This facility received a Satellite Gold Award in Firehouse's 2018 Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
Henrico Fire House #19 was an opportunity for the County to depart from an old prototype design and create a new kit-of-parts that reflected the most current thinking in fire station design. The planning effort prioritized response times and firefighter health and safety, but also took into consideration issues related to sleep deprivation, accommodation of a diverse workforce, modern apparatus sizes, fostering camaraderie, and sustainability.
The station has 12 bunk rooms and four single-user shower/toilet rooms. Offices for the firefighters and for the station captain are located near the public entrance, and the dayroom, dining and kitchen areas are situated directly adjacent to the apparatus bays for direct response. Support spaces, located on the opposite side of the apparatus bays, include turnout gear storage and decontamination.
Fire House #19 is located in a burgeoning part of the County, directly adjacent to a new development of single-family homes. The County’s goal for the project was to create a house for firefighters and fire apparatus, more specifically, a house that blended seamlessly with the immediate neighborhood and was distinct from other stations in the County. To that end, the materials used on the façade (fiber cement siding and manufactured stone) are the same as those used on the local houses, but are installed as a rain screen to improve longevity and energy performance. The exterior concept uses multiple pitched roof elements connected with flat roof elements to break down the scale of the structure to something compatible with the two-story homes nearby.
The building is set back on the site to accommodate a sanitary sewer line running diagonally across the front of the parcel, which serves the homes in the nearby development. The front of the station is oriented toward the intersection to allow passersby to build a connection with the fire department.
Architect: BKV Group
