Depending on the size of your department, building a new fire station may happen only once in your career. Even if you have built several stations, designs have changed significantly in the past six years due to new security steps, research and increased rates of firefighter cancer.
Educating yourself and your building committee on the process and latest trends in designing and building a fire station is an investment that will save you time and money in costly errors. The 2018 Station Design Conference, May 9-11, is your resource. The conference is being held in Fort Worth, TX.
Think about it. If your current station is 30 or 40 years old, was it designed to meet the needs and responsibilities of your fire department today? Was it designed for the larger, multi-purpose apparatus, gear and equipment, or the exponential increase in EMS calls of today? How can you be expected to predict what your department will be responsible for 30, 40 or 50 years from now? Is it possible to build a fire station to last 75 years? Yes. The 2018 Station Design Conference has presenters who can tell you how to do just that.
This year, the Station Design Conference has 13 new presentations selected to help you learn how to build the right facility for your department, your personnel and your community. We have tapped award-winning architects who specialize in designing fire and public safety facilities, together with fire chiefs and projects managers with recent experience in building new, highly functioning fire/rescue/EMS facilities.
Your education begins on Wednesday, May 9, if you sign up for the 1-on-One pre-conference program. It’s an opportunity to bring your drawings, site options or plans, and sit down with an experienced architect for an objective, third-party review of your department’s plans. Join small groups of your peers in presentations on a variety of design topics and then tour a local fire station or two.
The general sessions begins on Thursday, May 10, with a lively overview on designing a public safety project by Ken Newell, Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects. Ken’s wit and expertise in fire and public safety projects will have you taking down all sorts of notes. (Don’t worry we post the PowerPoints after the conference.)
Next is the meat-and-potatoes of basic building: facility planning covers land acquisition to jurisdictional approvals and just before lunch, a presentation on the different types of construction delivery methods. After lunch, the popular “Program for Success” presentation by Lynn Reda, Hughes Group Architects, followed with a case study by a fire chief and his architect on how to meet the budget, and finally, a presentation on “The Modern Apparatus Bay.” The day ends with a networking reception and opportunity to meet with over 30 exhibitors, presenters and your peers.
Friday, May 11, begins with a fast-paced program, “Ignorance isn’t Bliss” with David Pacheco and Dennis Ross, Pacheco Ross Architects, who will share insights and pointers that you need to get your facility built right and with minimum headaches. Next, learn the latest on all the NFPA standards that apply to your new facility, followed by a powerful presentation on designing a healthy station to reduce carcinogens and limit firefighter cancers. Just before a Texas BBQ lunch, Lynn Reda is back with an energetic, interactive “Fire Station Jeopardy” that will teach—and test—your skills on fire stations.
After Friday’s lunch, two parallel tracks will offer four programs, including the very latest in firefighter sleep deprivation and fire stations, the use of GIS in site selection and how learning to read an architect’s plans will get you the station you want.
Thanks to our sponsors, breakfast, breaks and lunch are included in the get on Thursday and Friday. Shuttles are available from the hotels and the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex, where the conference is held, is an amazing training center to visit.
By the way, this year, there will be a new, special track for law enforcement agencies or municipalities that are designing new police stations or public safety facilities. More can be found on http://www.fhstationdesign.com/law.
The Station Design Conference is a very focused conference to help educate you on building or renovating your next station. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. The conference staff, the presenters and the vendors want to help you learn and build the best facility you can.
