Consider some of the world's greatest mysteries. How did the early Egyptians build the great pyramids? Did the underwater city of Atlantis really exist? What really goes on in Area 51? Maybe you even have wondered how the winners of the annual Station Style Fire Station Design Awards are selected.

A number of factors go into determining the winners, but first a panel of judges has to be selected. The judges usually include one career and one volunteer chief officer and an architect who has designed fire stations. There often is another fire service representative, and since 2002 I too have been a member of the panel. As a full-time operator for the Reno (Nev.) Fire Department and as a National Council of Architectural Registration Boards — certified architect, I speak both “fire” and “architecture,” which gives me a balanced perspective.

I can't speak as to how the other judges come up with their top picks prior to our meeting in Chicago, but I can share my reviewing process. A week or two before the judges meet, each receives a package containing all of the entries, which seems to grow each year. It's initially a little overwhelming, and it takes a day or two for me to get into the right frame of mind to review each and every submission.

The submissions are separated into five piles: career, volunteer, satellite, combined-use and renovation. I begin with the largest pile — to the surprise of no one, this always has been the career category. For each submission, I scan the particulars on the project data sheet and read the full-length project description. The information on the data sheet, ranging from department name to project costs, has very little influence on my evaluation.

The project area and costs influence my decision only when all other factors are equal. Prevailing wages and costs of materials vary by location. The total cost to build a fire station in New York will not be the same as the cost to build that exact same station in Los Angeles; Dallas; Milwaukee; or Des Moines, Iowa. I find it an unfair comparison.

The project description, however, tells me about the goals set forth by the architect and the fire department. How many apparatus will be housed by the station? How many firefighters in how many companies will be working at the station? What is the neighborhood like? Is it primarily residential, commercial or industrial? What were the specific requirements of the department that needed to be addressed in this station? Will meetings be held at the station by the general public? Will the station also be used by the fire administration? What about training? An informative project description minimizes my guesswork.

Due to the increasing difficulty of acquiring adequate funding to finance the construction of new public safety buildings, many agencies are combining their efforts to build a combination-use building. It's no longer uncommon to see fire stations sharing space with law enforcement. If this is the case, how does the design of the fire station deal with this association? Do the two agencies share facilities, or are the two agencies kept separate?

Drawn to scale

The site plan and the floor plans are the most important items of the submission package. These drawings tell me if the architects have done their homework. The station's design should give me the impression that the architects truly understand what it's like to live and work in a fire station.

For example, the station should be located ideally on the site to maximize its use, and fire apparatus should be able to respond safely to calls when leaving the station. When returning to the station, must fire apparatus back into the apparatus bay? If so, how is traffic affected? If the station has a drive-through bay, does access to it flow and make sense? Are aprons provided in front of and behind the bay? Is the apron made of concrete or asphalt, which gets soft in hot weather and fails under the weight of most fire apparatus?

Parking is another site factor. Public parking should be in an obvious location or easily identified, and it ideally should be close to the station's public entrance. For that matter, is the entrance easily identified and inviting? Are ADA requirements addressed? Is parking for the public separate from employee parking? Is security provided for employee vehicles, perhaps through the use of a security gate or cameras?

If the design includes on-site training, there are other considerations. Are on-site training props laid out on the property to accommodate multiple training exercises? Where do visiting companies and personnel park their apparatus?

When submitting floor plans, it's extremely important to label each room and/or show how the space is to be furnished. Although I am usually able to make an educated guess concerning the use of unlabeled rooms and spaces because of my background, I would hesitate to make the same assumption of my fellow judges. Judges from the fire service may not have the architectural background to interpret unlabeled spaces, and judges from architectural firms may not have the fire service background to know the type of rooms and spaces that are required to support the apparatus bay, for example.

The most important job of a fire company is to respond quickly, efficiently and safely to emergencies. Consequently, firefighters must be able to get to their apparatus in the same quick, efficient and safe manner. As a result, I focus on the station's circulation patterns, determining if firefighters can get to their apparatus in a timely manner from any part of the station, including the sleeping quarters. If a firefighter must make more than two turns or go through another room to get to the apparatus bay, the floor plan begs for further scrutiny.

Big deals

The most important space in a fire station is the apparatus bay, and the station's design should reflect its importance by including rooms or spaces to support it. For example, as turnouts are no longer allowed inside living quarters due to health considerations, how and where are they stored? How are EMS equipment decontamination and storage, hose cleaning, hazmat decontamination, and SCBA repair functions handled? Is there a workshop area for the engineer/operator?

Apparatus cleaning and maintenance should be considered, as should exhaust extraction and filtration. How does the design of the apparatus bay facilitate these functions? Is water removed from the bay floor via trench drains or spot drains? Are the walls lined with water-resistant finishes? Are the ceilings high enough to support tilt cabs? Are hose bibbs provided? Are there air and electrical power drops for each apparatus? Are there roll-up or bi-fold bay doors? Roll-ups are initially cheaper but tend to have higher maintenance and repair costs.

The kitchen and its associated dining area are the next most important spaces because the kitchen is the center of most firehouse activities. Firefighters love to eat, and a large portion of the day is spent preparing meals and cleaning up after them. For the most part, firefighters eat together, sharing stories and rehashing the day's events at the dinner table. Mornings are important, too, both for coffee and the exchange of information between the incoming and outgoing shifts.

The design of the kitchen and dining area must reflect the importance of this space, and the materials used must hold up to firefighter abuse. Are appliances residential- or commercial-grade? Is the sink large enough to accommodate a large pot? Is the kitchen laid out to be cook-friendly? Is there a pantry? Do all shifts share one refrigerator, or is one assigned to each shift? Firefighters love to barbecue. Is there an outdoor barbecue space and a screened outdoor eating area? Is the barbecue plumbed for gas?

Separate spaces

The next spaces to look at are the sleeping quarters and bathrooms, both of which should offer maximum flexibility. Is there a single large room for all with beds lined up side by side, or is the room divided by 6-foot-high walls? How is the gender issue dealt with? Does each firefighter have his or her own dorm room? Are there enough personal lockers, including one for the occasional firefighter who isn't normally assigned to the station?

Because firefighters are individuals, station design should consider individual preferences, including different sleep schedules and preferred temperature. Sleeping quarters also have to tackle the problem of “loud sleepers.” Obviously, less importance is placed on the details of the sleeping quarters when judging volunteer stations.

Bathroom arrangements can vary widely, from residential-type bathrooms intended for use by a single individual to locker rooms and showers designed to accommodate many firefighters at the same time. In any case, there should be an adequate number of lavatories, toilets and showers. Gender-neutral bathrooms offer the greatest amount of flexibility.

Everyday living spaces, such as the day room and classrooms, are next on the list. In fact, the day room may be flexible enough to serve as a classroom. Is the room large enough to accommodate a recliner for each firefighter, or can it fit only couches? Is there space for a large television that can be seen from anywhere in the room? Outside of this communal environment, there may be rooms dedicated for private study or other similar tasks.

Other rooms

Physical conditioning is a major concern that usually is addressed by a fitness room. Exercise areas need to be large enough to accommodate all of the desired equipment, and the only way to demonstrate this to the judges is with a floor plan. Is this room large enough for the entire crew to work out together, or is it only large enough to accommodate one or two firefighters at a time? Will air circulation be adequate via natural or mechanical means? Is the ceiling high enough to accommodate a StairMaster?

A great deal of firefighter time is spent on training to maintain or improve various skills. Is the fire station training-friendly? Is it easy to set up effective training props and scenarios in the station? Is the station cited as part of a departmental training center and equipped with training props? If so, I look for photographs that support that claim. Is non-physical training provided via the Internet or through the increasingly common department intranet? Are computer stations provided for firefighter use in an office or other area? Is there adequate office space for updating training records and for writing reports?

Once the firefighters' needs are addressed, it's time to consider the public with an inviting reception area and restrooms. If the station also will be used by the general public or elected public officials to hold regular meetings, the design should address station security. Will the public have access to the entire station, or will there be an obvious separation?

Score sheets

After scrutinizing the interior, I take off my firefighter helmet and put on my architecture cap to concentrate on the building exterior. What statement is the architect trying to express in his design? This question is often answered in the project description. If the goal is to provide an architectural design that complements the surrounding neighborhood, was the solution successful? Don't claim that the station matches the neighborhood unless pictures of the neighborhood are provided.

Building materials also are important. Was there an innovative use of brick and stucco, or did the architect play it safe with split-faced concrete block? Did the architect design a building that looks like a fire station, or does it look more like a high school? Did the architect incorporate an interesting assembly of arches and curves, or did the architect rely on the use of shade and shadows to make a statement? Is the station aesthetically pleasing? Is it environmentally friendly? Is the station oriented properly to maximize the use to the sun to minimize ice and snow buildup on the front apron, or is the station oriented to take advantage of the best views?

Each submission receives a score between zero and 10. Higher scores equate to better overall design. A fire station that could grace the cover of prominent architectural magazines because of award-winning exterior elevations but is severely lacking in interior space logic is, in my opinion, bad architecture and will receive a poor score. I give positive marks for innovation — doing something different that isn't normally seen in fire station design. In past competitions, this has included incorporating training props into the design of the station or acquiring LEED certification. After reviewing all the submissions in each category, I rank them to the best of my ability.

Once the judges meet in Chicago to select the winners in each category, we compare our winners' lists. A lively discussion as to who should be crowned the winners typically fills the morning, but by the end of the day a consensus is reached. It has been my experience that the judges representing fire departments tend to focus more on station floor plans and layouts than on the exterior architectural aesthetics, whereas the judges representing architectural firms tend to do the opposite. Although my background encompasses both disciplines, I try to balance both, but I admit to a bias toward user-friendly designs.

I hope I've removed some of the mystique surrounding the Station Style Fire Station Design Awards. I wish you all the best of luck, and I look forward to seeing your design submissions in upcoming competitions.

---

Johnny Fong is a full-time firefighter with the Reno (Nev.) Fire Department and is the owner and principal of FireHouse Designs. Fong has a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of California — Berkeley and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.