In Quarters: Manitowish Waters, WI, Fire Station

This facility received the Volunteer/Combination Notable Award in the 2021 Firehouse Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here. 

Manitowish Waters is a small community in rural northern Wisconsin. The town population of fewer than 600 swells in the summer season with tourists and temporary residents from around the region who are drawn to the town’s nearby chain of lakes and variety of outdoor activities. As a rural emergency response hub, the Manitowish Waters Fire Company must respond to a wide range of situations in a varied landscape. The self-funded fire company is staffed by volunteer firefighters who provide the rural community with fire, rescue and EMS services. The funds that were required to build the new fire station were raised through donations and a tax levy to purchase the land, building and equipment.

This economical project replaces the town’s obsolete and outdated facility with a new fire station to support a nimble and wide-ranging emergency response and to expand its use as a community hub. The exterior of the building is clad in custom architectural precast concrete panels that create random vertical shadows that are reminiscent of the shade and silhouettes that are found in a Northwoods forest—juxtaposed by a striking acid green, steel canopy that matches the apparatus branding and safety yellow color. A pumper, a ladder truck, ATVs, boats, trucks and an ambulance are housed in the building’s four drive-through apparatus bays, which allows for year-round maintenance of vehicles.

Turnout gear lockers and cleaning/ decontamination equipment are housed in the apparatus bay to keep contaminants contained and separated from the clean office/training side of the building, which houses offices, a training/events area, a kitchen, a fitness center, bathrooms and showers. The training space doubles as a flexible public meeting space and is accessed easily without disturbing the activities in the offices or apparatus bay.  

Architect/Firm Name: HGA