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

This two-story station replaces the outdated Station 3. It capitalizes on a city-owned site to enhance access, visibility and emergency response capabilities.

The station’s layout was designed to support quick deployment, firefighter wellness and long-term resiliency in a coastal city that experiences high seasonal traffic and a constant influx of visitors. The first floor features four double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays, which allows for rapid, obstruction-free response and ease of return from the heavily traveled Route 1 highway. Each bay connects directly to an independently ventilated turnout gear room, a multitier decontamination zone and fire gear storage.

Station response time was a core driver of the design. Travel distances between key operational spaces were minimized through a clear circulation spine and intuitive flow from bunkrooms to apparatus bays. Three separate mezzanines create spatial separation without sacrificing speed. These mezzanines are used for equipment storage and as integrated training platforms. The Station Design Awards judges agreed with the execution of this design element.

A fully enclosed fitness room that’s located on a mezzanine level of the facility keeps members who are conducting physical training protected from salt air and extreme weather.

On the second floor, the design emphasizes recovery, collaboration and mental health. A communal kitchen and dining room serve as the central hub, with multiple adjacent areas that allow the space to adapt to the department’s needs. A multipurpose room provides flexibility for community meetings, internal training and other departmental activities. A spacious balcony creates an inviting area for camaraderie, informal gatherings or quiet decompression.

Natural light was prioritized in the design of the facility by providing clerestory windows and full-height glazing as a means to help to provide natural daylight deep into the building.

Because of the coastal front location, every material was selected with longevity, corrosion resistance and maintainability in mind. As an essential facility, the building exceeds structural performance standards to remain operational during and after extreme weather events. The structure was constructed with masonry-hardened systems and uses engineered exterior wall cladding to withstand winds of 140 mph and faster and associated wind-borne debris.

Several hurdles were overcome in the development of Station 3. A major hurdle was achieving a layout that prioritizes response efficiency and firefighter health in a compact urban footprint. This involved determining what functions and materials should be placed on the first floor. This was overcome by working closely and consistently with the department leadership and members to understand operational priorities and daily workflows. In the view of the Station Design Awards judges, the work paid off, with one judge offering that the station “might be evidence that a three-story facility (first floor, mezzanine, second floor) provides a reasonable massing scale for compact sites.”

Another critical hurdle was ensuring easy access to emergency calls in a multistory facility. To address this, the design incorporates direct access to stair towers and bays, which are positioned strategically near the living quarters and first-floor corridors. These strategies minimize steps, reduce transitions, and enhance clarity between sleep, response and operational zones.

Architect: Manns Woodward Studios