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Fire stations of the world: Durham Fire Station in Sniperley Park, Durham, UKUK’s Durham Community Fire Station was completed in 2015 as part of the £16 million CDDFRS estates improvement programme. The building is located in the green belt and is designed to reflect the rural nature of the site. The proposed community fire station has been designed with the community in mind. The safety of local communities and the prevention of emergency incidents are of prime importance to the Fire Authority. In this respect, accommodation which provides facilities for community interaction and engagement, while providing a state of the art emergency response service is key.
This project for Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service was built in a remote area of Durham to enable easier access to all major routes and avoid traffic bottlenecks in the city centre. The overall design of the scheme was to split the station into four sections, built around a central training yard. The main building was constructed in stone, with timber on the upper level. Full height south facing glazing is shaded by timber brise soleil. The pitched roof is zinc and the flat roof in standing seam aluminium. The average pitched roof building height is 12m and the training tower is just over 12m high. The community and operational hub houses the main reception, operational muster room, offices, locker, drying and cleaning rooms, a gym and services rooms. On the first floor there is a community multiple function room, canteen, kitchen and common room. The two-storey appliance bay wing is joined to the main building and gives direct and extremely quick access onto the A691 via a forecourt and “wig wag” traffic light control system, which is activated when emergency responses are necessary. To the rear of the building there is a canopy facing into the central training yard, beneath which appliances can be cleaned and maintained. The yard itself contains a central manoeuvring area, underground water tank for training use, and training space which accommodates road traffic incident scenarios. The training building is located to the north east corner of the development and is a two-storey, stand-alone brick structure built with a mono pitched roof and a four-storey tower for the purpose of ladder training exercises. The surrounding areas are secured with perimeter fencing and landscaped through grass and tree planting, with a wild flower meadow established between the central car park and south eastern boundary. The Durham Fire Station is crewed by whole-time and on-call fire fighters and hosts five fire vehicles along with Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team. Opening The Right Reverend Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, officially opened the new station in Sniperley Park, Durham, more than a month after it was brought into use. During the visit guests were invited to tour the purpose-built station, which includes state-of-the-art training facilities as well as space and meeting rooms for use by community groups. Susan Johnson, chief executive of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said, “We are pleased that the Bishop of Durham and so many of our partners were able to join us today to officially open this impressive new community fire station. This building is now well positioned to serve those people living and working in Durham as well as visitors to our region for many years to come. These fantastic facilities will allow us to continue to provide an efficient and effective response to incidents, meet the training needs of our firefighters and establish a useful community hub, which local people and groups can use for meetings and events.” The station was first used on 11 February 2015 just ten months after the ground work for the build began on 1 April 2014. This new building, located just off the A691 with good links to the A1, is strategically situated to access main arterial roads heading to all areas of County Durham and Darlington. Councillor Michele Hodgson, chairwoman of County Durham and Darlington Fire Authority, said, “The completion of this new station is just one part of the Fire Authority’s estates improvement programme. Despite the challenges posed by budget reductions, prudent financial planning has allowed the Service to invest in modernising fire stations, training facilities and a move to a fit for purpose headquarters building.” The new station replaces the fire station on Finchale Road, Framwellgate Moor, which served the community for 60 years and has now been sold. Sources: County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, JWW, Bowmer and Kirkland, Napper Architects |
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