In Quarters: UFSA Fire Station No. 253, Eagle Mountain, UT

This facility received the Career 1 Silver award in the 2025 Firehouse Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here. 

In response to increasing residential development and the need for a forward-thinking, health-focused facility, this station was envisioned as a prototype model that would meet operational needs today while accommodating future growth. Unified Fire Service Area’s (UFSA) priorities were clear: create a healthy station environment; ensure secure, functional adjacency to a neighboring public park; and deliver a long-term facility that’s capable of supporting evolving personnel and community needs. Central to the planning was a land-swap agreement with UFSA that resulted in the inclusion of a dedicated community/training room to foster civic engagement and multifunctional programming.

Although the building’s layout was derived from a previously developed prototype, the exterior materials were modified to complement the surrounding context, and the community/training room was added as an amenity for the Eagle Mountain citizens.

Situated adjacent to a city park, a residential neighborhood and a nearby middle school, with future mixed-use developments planned, the site demanded sensitivity to public access without compromising security or operational efficiency.

Execution of this proved worthy of acclaim from the Station Design Awards judges. The design team’s approach successfully balanced civic interface with controlled access to secure operational zones.

The design prioritizes rapid emergency response through a highly efficient layout. Firefighter sleeping rooms are positioned along a straight arterial hallway that connects directly to the apparatus bays. Each private sleeping room includes an individual bathroom, which is a configuration that serves multiple purposes: promoting gender equity, reducing exposure to infectious disease and eliminating restroom bottlenecks during responses.

This feature was particularly critical given that the project was developed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and wellness are further enhanced by a layout that isolates Hot, Warm and Cold Zones.

Two dedicated decontamination shower rooms are located between the decon laundry room and the airlock, to facilitate and encourage the firefighters’ physical decon process more easily, an element of which the Station Design Awards judges were approving.

A central courtyard brings abundant natural light into the core of the building, including the interior facing sleeping rooms, to foster a calming, circadian-supportive environment. The Station Design Awards judges were very impressed with this atypical feature.

The exercise room was designed to accommodate multiple firefighters working out together, to foster camaraderie and support both physical and mental health. The room opens directly to a screened patio, which allows indoor/outdoor flexibility for high-intensity training programs. This connection to the outdoors supports fresh air circulation and offers more dynamic opportunities for group exercise, to further enhance wellness and morale.

Additionally, the open-concept dayroom/kitchen/dining area was conceived by the team to encourage social interaction, team bonding and decompression.

To ensure safer air quality within the faciilty, the apparatus bays feature an automated filtration system that incorporates timed mechanical ventilation operation. 

Ultimately, this facility represents a forward-looking model for UFSA’s fire station design, one that places equal weight on performance, wellness and flexibility. The integration of the community room adds an additional layer of civic value, to reinforce the station’s role as both a public safety hub and a neighborhood asset. The station not only meets but exceeds the expectations that were set by the department, city and residents who it serves.

Architect: BRW Architects