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2 June 2023
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Fire stations of the world: City of Green Fire Station 3, Ohio, US
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The City of Green, situated in Ohio in the US has constructed its new Fire Station 3 located at 3795 Mayfair Road, which was officially opened on 2 September 2020. The City of Green built this fire station with training in mind by building an attached training tower. The training tower has full smoke, water and rappel capabilities so that the fire fighters can train whatever and whenever they want. The City of Green Fire Station 3 does a great job of mixing some old school fire department design with new school training and features. This new 12 250 square-foot satellite fire station blends comfortably into the surrounding residential neighbourhood and provides three drive-through bays with private sleeping rooms for the crew of four. “This moment was a long time coming but completely worth the effort,” said Green Fire Chief Jeff Funai. “Our mission in the fire division is to save lives, as simple as that. No matter the cost or the conditions, our goal is to save lives and this station is going to be a cornerstone in that mission.”
Designed by Prime A/E and LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, the Fire Station 3 is particularly notable for its extensive on-site training features, which include a three storey training tower and roof top training decks over adjacent spaces that can be easily configured to represent realistic incident situations for any combination of single or multi-storey scenarios. A major benefit of the on-site training is the crew remains in service while building esprit de corps while sharpening their technical skills. The station is also notable for its carefully designed decontamination spaces following state-of-the-art Hot Zone Design strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer in fire fighters. Finally, the station includes a “Storm Shelter” that will withstand tornado strength wind forces to safely protect the crew in event of a weather emergency.
Green Fire Department Lt Brad Hemphill said he was the project liaison for the new station and in charge of ordering all the items needed for inside the station. He said studies for the station began in April 2017 as a committee was put together to evaluate what to include in it.
Hemphill said discussions took place about where the next station should be built, as both the northeast and southwest corners of the city have the longest call response times. The decision to build in the northeast corner of the city first was based off a higher call volume and a larger population in that area, he added.
“The new station will allow quicker emergency response times not only in the populous northeast quadrant but in our entire city,” said Green Mayor Gerard Neugebauer during a dedication ceremony at the station 2 September 2020. Projects like Fire Station No 3 take years to plan, design and build. A successful project like this takes the efforts and skills of so many people working together for a common goal.”
While several different site locations were explored in the northeast corner of the city, Hemphill said the corner of Raber and Mayfair roads was attractive, since it has both sewer and water availability.
The new station was constructed on an angle, as the city has future plans to construct a roundabout at the intersection, Hemphill said. “We tried to keep the aesthetics the best as possible since the building is going in a neighbourhood,” he added.
The approximately $4,4 million station is being funded using $3 million from the NEXUS settlement fund and the remaining cost being paid out of the General Fund, according to city officials.
Hemphill said the COVID-19 pandemic did result in some contractors having fewer employees working on the building at one time but the bigger impact came from the wet spring weather delaying much of the concrete being poured.
He said the building was designed in three stages with hot, warm and cold zones. When firemedics return from calls, the garage bay areas are known as the hot zone, Hemphill said. As firemedics enter the building, they enter the warm zone, where they can decontaminate by showering and washing their gear before entering the cold zone, which consists of the living corridors.
Hemphill said having the different zones helps with cancer prevention for the firemedics.
The building will be staffed with a lieutenant and two firemedics at all times, he said. The station’s features include four individual dorm rooms, a conference room, dining area, patio, exercise room, tornado shelter, workshop and several storage areas.
Hemphill said the individual dorm rooms allow for privacy. At Station No 1, for example, firemedics all share one room.
Another feature of the building includes its bay doors, which are bi-folding and open to the sides rather than go up like a traditional garage door. Hemphill said these style doors open quicker, allowing emergency vehicles to respond faster.
The building also has a three-level tower with balconies, windows and doors, which can be used for training exercises, he said. “We will use this as our training facility,” Hemphill said.
He added the tower allows for confined space training, as the grates in the floor on the upper levels can be taken out and a ladder put in place. In addition, the tower is waterproof, which allows for hose training, he said. “Beyond just being a launch point for a community emergency response, this station is loaded with training features that will allow it to be used as a resource by the entire region,” Chief Funai said.
According to city officials, the fire division has 69 total employees and in 2019 responded to an average of 11 alarms per day.
Source: City of Green, Akron and LeMay, Erickson, Willcox Architects, Heroes Next Door
Designed by Prime A/E and LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, the Fire Station 3 is particularly notable for its extensive on-site training features, which include a three storey training tower and roof top training decks over adjacent spaces that can be easily configured to represent realistic incident situations for any combination of single or multi-storey scenarios. A major benefit of the on-site training is the crew remains in service while building esprit de corps while sharpening their technical skills. The station is also notable for its carefully designed decontamination spaces following state-of-the-art Hot Zone Design strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer in fire fighters. Finally, the station includes a “Storm Shelter” that will withstand tornado strength wind forces to safely protect the crew in event of a weather emergency.
Green Fire Department Lt Brad Hemphill said he was the project liaison for the new station and in charge of ordering all the items needed for inside the station. He said studies for the station began in April 2017 as a committee was put together to evaluate what to include in it.
Hemphill said discussions took place about where the next station should be built, as both the northeast and southwest corners of the city have the longest call response times. The decision to build in the northeast corner of the city first was based off a higher call volume and a larger population in that area, he added.
“The new station will allow quicker emergency response times not only in the populous northeast quadrant but in our entire city,” said Green Mayor Gerard Neugebauer during a dedication ceremony at the station 2 September 2020. Projects like Fire Station No 3 take years to plan, design and build. A successful project like this takes the efforts and skills of so many people working together for a common goal.”
While several different site locations were explored in the northeast corner of the city, Hemphill said the corner of Raber and Mayfair roads was attractive, since it has both sewer and water availability.
The new station was constructed on an angle, as the city has future plans to construct a roundabout at the intersection, Hemphill said. “We tried to keep the aesthetics the best as possible since the building is going in a neighbourhood,” he added.
The approximately $4,4 million station is being funded using $3 million from the NEXUS settlement fund and the remaining cost being paid out of the General Fund, according to city officials.
Hemphill said the COVID-19 pandemic did result in some contractors having fewer employees working on the building at one time but the bigger impact came from the wet spring weather delaying much of the concrete being poured.
He said the building was designed in three stages with hot, warm and cold zones. When firemedics return from calls, the garage bay areas are known as the hot zone, Hemphill said. As firemedics enter the building, they enter the warm zone, where they can decontaminate by showering and washing their gear before entering the cold zone, which consists of the living corridors.
Hemphill said having the different zones helps with cancer prevention for the firemedics.
The building will be staffed with a lieutenant and two firemedics at all times, he said. The station’s features include four individual dorm rooms, a conference room, dining area, patio, exercise room, tornado shelter, workshop and several storage areas.
Hemphill said the individual dorm rooms allow for privacy. At Station No 1, for example, firemedics all share one room.
Another feature of the building includes its bay doors, which are bi-folding and open to the sides rather than go up like a traditional garage door. Hemphill said these style doors open quicker, allowing emergency vehicles to respond faster.
The building also has a three-level tower with balconies, windows and doors, which can be used for training exercises, he said. “We will use this as our training facility,” Hemphill said.
He added the tower allows for confined space training, as the grates in the floor on the upper levels can be taken out and a ladder put in place. In addition, the tower is waterproof, which allows for hose training, he said. “Beyond just being a launch point for a community emergency response, this station is loaded with training features that will allow it to be used as a resource by the entire region,” Chief Funai said.
According to city officials, the fire division has 69 total employees and in 2019 responded to an average of 11 alarms per day.
Source: City of Green, Akron and LeMay, Erickson, Willcox Architects, Heroes Next Door
