The growing Elgin (Ill.) Fire Department needed to build an apparatus maintenance facility and a traditional fire station on a site in a quiet, residential neighborhood. And with the help of a seasoned fire-station architect and an experienced project manager, the department did just that.
 
Established in 1867, the Elgin Fire Department is located 40 miles northwest of Chicago and serves a population that throughout the day ranges from 104,000 to 240,000. The department has seven stations and 133 career members. The department projects it will build eight more stations in the next 20 to 30 years.
 
Asst. Chief Chief Mike Baker, who served as project manager, has been a presenter at Station Style Conferences and served as a judge for the Fire Station Design Awards. He is proud of Station No. 7’s ability to accommodate emergency response coverage and vehicle maintenance in one structure without interfering with each other. More important, the design of the building does not detract from the surrounding residential area. The station features a primary entrance/exit located 6 feet below grade, offering a sound buffer for the neighborhood.
 
Baker said the most challenging aspect was designing a task-specific, vehicle maintenance facility and fire station for a residential zoned area. The project also needed to be tempered by keeping the budget in line and the proper separation between the functions of vehicle maintenance and emergency response.
 
“This would not have been possible without the input of the firefighters and mechanics,” Baker said. “They were given the parameters of the budget, building size, lot size and they created a building that is highly functional, addressed two critical needs and designed a structure that will address future expansion.”
 
Baker offered some suggestions for other departments looking to combine a maintenance facility and fire station, some of which will be applied to Elgin’s next station:

• Hire an architect who has extensive experience in vehicle maintenance and fire station design.
• Solicit input from firefighters and mechanics — they are the ones who live and work there.
• Perform soil testing early and consider a second site if the soil test is poor.
• Use station designs that meet department and city needs (i.e., quartermaster, vehicle maintenance, central supply, training, public education and other city uses).
• Build to future needs with room for expansion.
• Create an outside vehicle maintenance area.
• Separate the vehicle maintenance area from the response area.
• Account for all costs. Show your work/hard and soft costs.
• Find subcontractors who specialize in vehicle maintenance and fire department facilities.
• Don’t take property acquisition for granted. Plan enough time and an alternate site.
• Have different people review plans, layouts, and the like to make sure that items missed are kept to a minimum.
• Create and revise the expectations on the opening date.
• If you are going to incorporate green building materials or systems, make sure that they will work in a fire department setting and for the size of the building.