With modern technology, the Phoenix Fire Department now has new equipment and more direct ways of saving lives. With Fire Station #50, the department has one of the most environmentally conscious fire stations anywhere.

The new era in building demands fire-resistant materials, “green” building products, increased energy performance, safety from lead-based paints and asbestos contamination, and most importantly, total resistance to fire hazards. All of those ingredients are built into Fire Station #50.

The interior design lends itself to a new-century motif with its stainless-steel kitchen, central meeting rooms and living quarters with the latest gear. The interior also has earth-friendly building materials like the Perform Wall Panel System, which offers superior thermal performance, soundproofing and a five-hour fire rating. The material is 700% stronger than wood framing.

Additional features include earthquake resilience, excellent sound absorption, and pest and frost resistance, with 85% recycled materials used throughout.

In addition to the environmental features, Deputy Chief Joe Bushong is impressed with Fire Station #50's doors.

“One of the most unique features about Fire Station #50 is the front doors. They are bi-fold doors. They are very heavy steel doors, and because they are bi-fold, we are able to see the doors at all times as we're coming in and going out of the station,” Bushong says.

“If you think about an overhead door and the way it operates, you lose sight of it as you pull in or pull out of the station, and oftentimes that door may be either coming down or hasn't gone all the way up, or somebody else pushed the button and it came down unbeknownst to you as you pull in. We have a lot of accidents with overhead doors, so these doors are very nice.”

Another great feature, he says, is the community room. Many of the local scout troops hold their meetings in the community room, making it an attractive and usable space for the neighborhood. Having a beautiful fire station also raises the property values for local residents.

One of the fun community features at the grand opening of Fire Station #50 was “Fire Pal.” Chris Harlan, who is in the Phoenix Fire Cadet program, was the occupant of Fire Pal. He did a splendid job of entertaining kids old and young for several hours. His antics and acrobats while inside the costume were professionally performed, and the crowd went wild.

The architect for Fire Station #50 is Deutch and Associates, and the general contractor is FCI. The station won the APWA award for First Green Fire Station in Arizona. A silver LEED Award is expected to be awarded during later ceremonies.

Planners of future fire stations will want to send their design teams to Phoenix and visit Fire Station #50 for a look at what could be the new standard of station design.