The Upper Arlington (Ohio) Fire Department provides firefighting, emergency medical, rescue and hazmat response for the community. It also offers a variety of non-emergency programs, such as fire prevention, smoke- and carbon-monoxide detector information, blood-pressure screening, fire inspections, station and truck tours, and public speaking.

The department’s newest station, Upper Arlington Fire Station No. 72, received a silver honor in the 2010 Station Style Design Awards in the shared-facility category. This station replaces an old station on the same site, and combines fire and police facilities — including a police firing range — with an architectural style that reflects the historic character of the surrounding residential neighborhood.

“We are most proud to have successfully designed a combined public-safety facility that not only serves a vital need for fire and police service in the community, but also provides training facilities including basic firefighter skills training and a police department firing range all within one facility,” said Architect Mark Shoemaker of CR architecture + design.

But that firing range, along with a blast-proof armory, posed one of the biggest challenges in the design and construction of this station. They needed to be incorporated into a facility that also includes offices for both police and fire department personnel and, more critically, living/sleeping quarters for fire personnel.

“This challenge was met successfully by strategically placing the range in the basement directly below the fire-department support spaces, thereby creating a sound barrier through the solid masonry and concrete structure as well as the support spaces themselves,” Shoemaker said.

To support firefighter training, the facility includes a 50‐person training room and features that accommodate rappelling, confined space, high‐line, stokes basket, interior/exterior ladder,
dry standpipe, and ladder/basket training from the 4‐story tower. The training room also doubles as the city’s emergency operations center.

The station also features four pull-through apparatus bays, a kitchen, dining room and 10 private dorm rooms with two officer dorm rooms and suites, and a museum space with an antique fire truck.

A second — but no less important — challenge was designing a building that would fit within the context of an historic, affluent residential neighborhood. The use of materials, detailing and overall building massing helped reduce the visual scale of the building, blending it into the surrounding neighborhood.

“When an owner chooses to utilize a construction manager or owner’s representative on a project, it is critical to engage them very early in the design process — preferably at the very beginning of programming — to fully take advantage of their expertise and allow them to understand and contribute to the decision process,” Shoemaker said. “We also recommend that if a construction manager (CM) is engaged, that they be hired for full CM services rather than a partial selection of services. This will avoid any confusion as to the role of the CM, particularly during the construction phase of the project.”

Sponsors of the Upper Arlington Fire Station No. 72 page in the 2011 Station Style Calendar include Belden Brick and Division 4. Interior turnout racks are by GearGrid.