Ketchum, ID, Fire Station 1

This facility received the Career 1 Silver Award in the 2022 Firehouse Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.

The Ketchum Fire Station 1 was a greatly anticipated project for the citizens of Ketchum. The Ketchum Fire Department was looking to accommodate a varied force, with specialization in different forms of rescue—backcountry rescue, wildland firefighting and urban firefighting—into one new facility. It hoped to house its entire team of paid and volunteer firefighters as well as its maintenance facilities in a way that would allow programmatic growth over a 50-year planning horizon.

With a growing force of volunteer firefighters, member training has increased exponentially over the past several years. During the design process for the new station, the design team was tasked with integrating areas to support training on-site and within the facility. Although many mountain rescue training activities occur at off-site locations, considerations for training at the facility include laddering areas, a training hydrant that allows for hose advancement opportunities, a rear concrete pad for extinguisher training and training props. Internal to the station, the exposed bay allows for rope work, areas to support the demonstration and appropriate containment/decontamination of bloodborne pathogens/infectious disease, a firefighter training room, individual sleep/study areas, and a firefighter radio room that also is used for study and incident command training.

The station carefully was designed around sustainable design practices, with energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems. As desired by the city of Ketchum, the design team worked to meet LEED Silver Certification and be in line with the city’s goals to become Zero Net Energy by 2030 (providing infrastructure for solar panels and a fully electric heating-cooling system).

The site—with constrained dimensions and the need to manage heavy snow loads—incited creative solutions from the design team. The building footprint placed the structure at the front of the property line. This allowed for maximizing vehicle turning, snow storage and work areas toward the rear of the site while maintaining pedestrian walk and cross-traffic safety zones.

The two-story station has four apparatus bays, a community room for public and internal use, and a lobby with administrative offices on the main floor. Firefighter quarters—with dayroom and kitchen, sleeping dormitories and laundry—are located on the upper floor. The design was oriented toward the best mountain views of the famous ski resort in the area, with panoramic views from the main dayroom upstairs.

To best accommodate the various specialized teams that occupy the station, a special signaling system was designed for the sleeping rooms: Each is independently routed to allow for individual calls that only wake members who are needed for each specific emergency response.

The exterior articulation of the facility is based on clean and simple geometric forms that respond to the building program and the selection of durable materials. Exterior materials include dark masonry at the vehicle bay area, warm-colored metal siding at the service and administrative areas, and accent metal siding in service and entrance areas.

Architect/Firm Name: COLE Architects