Leader

**BoxAlarm187** · 01-02-2011, 08:31 PM

At the VFD, we're currently building a new 15,000SF facility to replace our current 3500SF building, I'd be more than happy to share a schematic of our building. Although when it opens it's going to be a strictly volunteer station, we've designed it be be used as a volunteer station, combination station, and an all-career station (should it come to that during the 50-year occupancy of the building).

We've got five 75' deep bays, 8 private sleeping quarters, 3 shower-equipped bathrooms, offices for FD, EMS, and the sheriff's office, a meeting/community room for 125 people, and a host of other features.

At work, we're going to start construction of our new building, a T-shaped station with three 50' deep bays on the back of the building, in June of 2011.

If you'd allow me to, I'll offer some advice:

Do a lot of research - we drove to firehouses in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina to see what worked and what didn't. We focused on stations that were less than 5 years old.
Decide what you want the building to be able to do over it's lifespan: Do you need a commercial-style kitchen for fundraisers? Do you need sleeping areas? A dayroom? Do you need a meeting room, or could the bays work for that instead?
Plan on putting twice the amount of storage that you think you'll need. EVERYONE we talked to during our travels told us this same thing.
How much land is the new station going to be on? Think about parking, storm-water retention ponds (if required by your state/locality), natural lighting, and the slope of the land as it relates to apparatus departure and entry.

I have about a million more things that I could go over, but these are the ones that kept coming up during our design phase.

Here are some links that I'd like to offer you also:
Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects
Fire Station Design
FIERO fire station conference
Fire Chief magazine: Fire Station design articles

Hope I didn't overwhelm you, and that some of this helps. Drop me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll forward you a copy of our drawing.

**shawnvfd** · 01-02-2011, 08:35 PM

Perfect thank you for the information!!!

I think that they company offering to buy the land we are on came at a perfect time.

There are several developers that are popping up new subdivisions around here and having a bigger building and space would work out when we get semi larger trucks (cant go too big due to the roads)

the plans you have is what we have been wanting to do with what we have (adding on and upgrading)

**BoxAlarm187** · 01-02-2011, 08:44 PM

Thanks, happy to help. I've been deeply involved in this process since Day 1, from doing sketches on a legal pad to making presentations at the County Board of Supervisor's meetings for funding, so I've probably had the chance to fight some of the battles ahead of time for you. ;-)

I know that other board members have also been involved in construction, hopefully they'll add some advice also.