In Quarters: Concord Township, OH, Fire Station No. 1
This facility received the Career 1 Notable award in the 2024 Firehouse Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
Built in the 1960s, the existing Concord Fire Station No. 1 outlived its useful life. With significant deficiencies in code compliance, gender accommodations, decontamination spaces and operational requirements, the facility no longer complied with current best practices for station design. After years of internal discussions and a location study to confirm that the station should remain near its existing location, in 2016, the fire department attended a station design conference to begin exploring the possibility of replacing its existing station. The following year, the township approved a feasibility study that concluded that a renovation of the existing station would be cost-prohibitiveand recommended a new facility.
When the township began to design the new facility, the focus was on providing a station that would improve response times, enhance the health and wellness of firefighters, provide on-site training and blend with the small-town community. The new, larger station also allows apparatus that previously were stored off-site in multiple locations to be housed within the bays to reduce response times.
The operations areas of the station were designed to include state-of-the-art spaces, including a decontamination/gear laundry that houses specialty equipment; a separate PPE storage room; and decon showers that aid in containing contaminants and keeping carcinogens out of the living quarters of the firehouse, to help to reduce the risk of firefighter cancer.
The station’s individual bunkrooms were designed to include enhanced acoustic control, which works to provide gender neutrality while minimizing sleep deprivation.
The inclusion of daylighting in the design and the use of natural colors and materials create a connection to nature to improve the mental and behavioral health of members.
An outdoor patio that’s adjacent to the fitness room allows indoor/outdoor physical training when weather permits and provides a place for the crew to relax and decompress.
A mezzanine that’s in the apparatus bays connects to a tower that’s located on the rear of the station. This design consideration allows personnel to train on high-rise evolutions, hose advancement, victim extrication, rope rescue and ladder evolutions.
Architect: FGM Architects