Surrey Fire Hall No. 14 is the first city-owned building seen by travelers entering Canada from the U.S. via the Douglas Border Crossing on Provincial Highway No. 15. The Surrey (B.C.) Fire Service protects one of Canada’s most innovative and fastest growing communities, which strives to be on the forefront of technology, patient care, suppression tactics and communications.

The first organized fire brigade in Surrey dates back to 1898, with volunteers serving from stations in Cloverdale, Whalley, and Crescent Beach. In1952, Surrey’s first full-time fire chief was appointed and tasked to organize the city as one department. The Surrey Fire Service currently has 400 career and 90 volunteer firefighters.

Fire Hall No. 14 is located in a rural area. The station previously had been staffed by all volunteers. “We had to be sensitive in going from all volunteer to a composite station,”said Deputy Chief Bud Livesey, who served as the project manager for Fire Hall No. 14, even after his retirement in July 2010. “We needed to have a building that was functional for both.”

Designed by Chernoff Thompson Architects, Fire Hall No. 14 reflects the heritage of the Surrey Fire Service while providing a contemporary, modern facility. The station was sited to preserve an existing grove of trees. Red clay brick, with a textured concrete-block base, provides the main exterior finish. Arches are incorporated into the brick cladding over the front apparatus bay door and the stair tower.

“It esthetically depicts what we wanted for the area as a traditional and contemporary element,” Livesey said.

According to Livesey, the department’s award-winning Fire Hall No. 10 set a high standard for the new station. Fortunately, several members from that station’s design team participated in the Fire Hall No. 14 project, so the result was seamless.

“The architects really understood what we wanted,” Livesey said.

Components from Fire Hall No. 10 were refined for No. 14 and the city’s goal for a building that was contemporary, but traditional to match the growth and progressive city of Surrey.

“The city was very practical in what they wanted,” Livesey said. “We really wanted to make an impact with tourists coming across the border; I wanted it to look like a fire station and there’s no doubt about the stations that we build.”