This joint Fire and EMS station now housed in one modern building with a cohesive exterior, and yet the architecture differentiates between the two uses with their own entrances, cladding profiles, colours and articulated roof lines. Both services have a distinct presence under the same roof. This facility is characterized by its efficient floor plan, light filled interiors, clean and simple finishes, warm and variegated exterior and by its ability to affirm the human scale while accommodating the needs of the emergency vehicles.
The design included a cistern that captures roof water for use in vehicle washing, an SCBA fill station, noxious gas extraction systems, shower/change facilities, provision for decontamination, and turnout gear storage facilities. This project tendered below pre-tender estimates. The final construction cost did not include the full contingency.
Intensive early investigations provided the town with options to gracefully integrate existing site conditions with operational needs.
The site's characteristics included:
- Three points of access to the municipal rights-of-way.
- A hydro utility easement through the site and an access easement to utility hydro sub-station.
- An irregular and angular foot print with steeply sloping swaths
Operational requirements included:
- An existing fire sub-station that was to remain operational during construction.
- Access through construction to the existing apparatus storage building.
- Large vehicle turning radii.
- Coordinated vehicle approach for Fire and EMS vehicles.
- Safeguarding efficient response times for both the firefighting complement and EMS teams.
- The inclusion of a community room to the building that brought the general public to the site challenged the patterns of movement by having to eliminate another layer of potential points of conflict.
How to Cross an Ambulance with a Fire Truck
