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2 August 2024
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Fire stations of the world: Unified Fire Service Area Fire Station 125 Midvale, designed with firefighter mental health in mind, Utah, US
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Officially opened on 13 December 2022, Unified Fire Service Area Fire Station No 125 provides the city of Midvale with an efficient, state-of-the-art, healthy station for its crew and the citizens who they protect. The three-bay, 15 800 square foot prototype fire station, located in the heart of Midvale, Utah in the US, houses 10 firefighters. The AJC Architects’ design solution addressed rapid response times by having a direct linear path to the apparatus bay.
Located at 655 W Centre Street, its contemporary exterior design features custom white glass fibre reinforced concrete panels that provide contrast against the burgundy Flemish bond brick veneer and red four-fold apparatus bay doors. Clerestory windows and an interior courtyard provide internal spaces that have an abundance of natural daylight, which is beneficial for firefighters’ mental health, particularly during winter months.
Designed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the department was focused equally on developing a facility that reduces firefighters’ risk of exposure to carcinogens and that contains the spread of infectious diseases. A decontamination procedure was developed and implemented into the layout to make the process straightforward and intuitive. The fire chief also requested that each sleeping room have its own bathroom to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, to prevent potential turnout time delays that are caused by waiting to use a shared restroom and to circumvent any potential gender issues. To further ensure efficient turnout times, all sleeping rooms are located on a straight-arterial hallway that leads directly into the apparatus bay.
Captain Kelly Millard said those areas will help to build a sense of connection throughout his team. “We are able to sit down, talk, joke, and that’s how a lot of us get through those hard calls,” he said.
Unified Fire Chief Dominic Burchett feels these small improvements will end up making a big difference. “We deal with a lot, we see a lot stuff that we can’t forget often times,” Burchett said. “So now, we are trying to predict the future, of what’s going to be an issue and try to resolve it with things like this station design.”
As Utah’s largest fire agency, UFA’s first responders protect 451 035 people in 15 municipalities in Salt Lake County, as well as Eagle Mountain in Utah County.
Sources: Unified Fire Authority Greater Salt Lake, Utah, AJC Architects
Located at 655 W Centre Street, its contemporary exterior design features custom white glass fibre reinforced concrete panels that provide contrast against the burgundy Flemish bond brick veneer and red four-fold apparatus bay doors. Clerestory windows and an interior courtyard provide internal spaces that have an abundance of natural daylight, which is beneficial for firefighters’ mental health, particularly during winter months.
Designed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the department was focused equally on developing a facility that reduces firefighters’ risk of exposure to carcinogens and that contains the spread of infectious diseases. A decontamination procedure was developed and implemented into the layout to make the process straightforward and intuitive. The fire chief also requested that each sleeping room have its own bathroom to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, to prevent potential turnout time delays that are caused by waiting to use a shared restroom and to circumvent any potential gender issues. To further ensure efficient turnout times, all sleeping rooms are located on a straight-arterial hallway that leads directly into the apparatus bay.
Captain Kelly Millard said those areas will help to build a sense of connection throughout his team. “We are able to sit down, talk, joke, and that’s how a lot of us get through those hard calls,” he said.
Unified Fire Chief Dominic Burchett feels these small improvements will end up making a big difference. “We deal with a lot, we see a lot stuff that we can’t forget often times,” Burchett said. “So now, we are trying to predict the future, of what’s going to be an issue and try to resolve it with things like this station design.”
As Utah’s largest fire agency, UFA’s first responders protect 451 035 people in 15 municipalities in Salt Lake County, as well as Eagle Mountain in Utah County.
Sources: Unified Fire Authority Greater Salt Lake, Utah, AJC Architects
