Wendel/Mitchell Associates Architects faced a challenge in designing and constructing a five-bay, 20,159-square foot fire station on a tight, oddly-shaped 1-1/4-acre site for the Binghamton (NY) Fire Department. The firm was able to pull off the design and still give the department all of the safety and living space priorities it wanted.
Bob Mitchell, senior architect at Wendel/Mitchell Associates Architects, says some of the priorities for a properly designed fire station are the safety and health of the firefighters, operational efficiency, sleeping accommodations that support a sound night’s sleep, gender equality, and durability and energy efficiency. He notes that Wendel/Mitchell was the firematic designer of Binghamton’s new station, and that Keystone Associates Architects, Engineers and Surveyors is the architect of record.
“Over the past few years, the fire service has learned much about the dangers of contaminants that travel from the fire scene back to the station,” Mitchell observes. “Our first requirement was to separate the building into hot, warm, and cold zones to prevent contaminants from entering the living and administrative spaces of the station.
“We then designed decontamination spaces adjacent to the apparatus bays that follow a logical sequence where firefighters enter a decon room to doff their turnout gear and clean firefighting equipment, then move through a laundry room, and into a private shower area where they can don clean clothes before exiting into the cold zone living spaces. The decon spaces all are negative pressurized and have a separate HVAC exhaust system.”
Alan Gardiner, Binghamton’s chief, notes that the architects had to turn the new building’s design 90 degrees because of the tight site. “We were going to have the apparatus room face Court Street, but that street has a median in it which would have had to be cut, so the architects turned the building to face along a street with no median,” Gardiner says. “It turned out great for us, with easy access both leaving the station and returning.”
Gardiner says the new station has five apparatus bays, four drive-through and one back-in, with a work room, equipment storage room, bathroom, SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) room, and hose/training tower along one wall of the bays. “There’s a mezzanine over those spaces that has a manhole for confined space training,” he says, “and the tower can be used for advancing hose up stairs, mask confidence, and for bailout practice.” Additional storage areas, a watch room, and the decon spaces and turnout gear storage room are on the other side of the bays, he adds.
Mitchell adds that the new station has 12 individual bunk rooms, including battalion chief and duty chief bunk rooms, five unisex toilet/shower rooms, an exercise room, meeting/training room, a personal laundry room, living room, and kitchen/dining area.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
