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22 December 2023
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Fire stations of the world: Londonderry Fire Central Station, New Hampshire, US
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The Town of Londonderry renovated it’s Londonderry Central Fire Station situated in New Hampshire, US. The two-phased project by North Branch Construction was for a renovation of the existing station along with two separate additions. The Londonderry Fire Central Station is located on Mammoth Road, which is a main thoroughfare in the town of Londonderry. The site is adjacent to town hall, a police station and a public library and across the street from the local high school. The original 8 200-square-foot station was built in 1978 by firefighters and volunteers. The renovations and additions expanded the facility to a total of 23 450 square feet.
The original station served the town well but lacked many features that are required for modern first response teams. Insufficient administrative space, gear storage, training room, sleeping quarters, apparatus bays, contaminant control, gender separation and general code compliance were primary concerns during planning and design.
The decision was made early to salvage and renovate the existing apparatus bay structure while adding new bays and operations/administrative wings to either side. The fire department was required to operate continuously during construction, so the team determined a phased construction approach was necessary.
Phase I included the addition of an equipment bay on the south end of the existing station along with a 4 620 s/f addition housing a new entrance lobby, a secure regional dispatch centre, administrative offices, break room, conference room and a training room. In addition, Phase I of the project included relocation of the station’s flag poles and the department’s “Never Forget” Memorial and Last Call bell from the northeast corner of the existing fire station to directly in front of the new administrative entrance.
The building remained occupied and fully operational, including the critical dispatch centre, since the start of the project in November 2018. Dispatch serves three towns and must operate 24/7, so a seamless integration during and after construction was critical.
The two-storey operations wing that’s on the opposite end of the building provides fully accessible support spaces, including a gear room, decontamination rooms, a fitness centre, vehicle maintenance, SCBA equipment and mechanical/electrical rooms. The second level includes bunk rooms that have built-in storage, a kitchen, a dining area, a dayroom, single-user locker rooms, report writing and a laundry facility.
The building features a masonry façade with pre-cast accents, hip-style roofs and prominent entry porticos that lend to a classic New England-style architecture and complementing other municipal public buildings that are within the larger site context.
Sources: New England Real Estate Journal, Port One Architects Inc, North Branch Construction
The original station served the town well but lacked many features that are required for modern first response teams. Insufficient administrative space, gear storage, training room, sleeping quarters, apparatus bays, contaminant control, gender separation and general code compliance were primary concerns during planning and design.
The decision was made early to salvage and renovate the existing apparatus bay structure while adding new bays and operations/administrative wings to either side. The fire department was required to operate continuously during construction, so the team determined a phased construction approach was necessary.
Phase I included the addition of an equipment bay on the south end of the existing station along with a 4 620 s/f addition housing a new entrance lobby, a secure regional dispatch centre, administrative offices, break room, conference room and a training room. In addition, Phase I of the project included relocation of the station’s flag poles and the department’s “Never Forget” Memorial and Last Call bell from the northeast corner of the existing fire station to directly in front of the new administrative entrance.
The building remained occupied and fully operational, including the critical dispatch centre, since the start of the project in November 2018. Dispatch serves three towns and must operate 24/7, so a seamless integration during and after construction was critical.
The two-storey operations wing that’s on the opposite end of the building provides fully accessible support spaces, including a gear room, decontamination rooms, a fitness centre, vehicle maintenance, SCBA equipment and mechanical/electrical rooms. The second level includes bunk rooms that have built-in storage, a kitchen, a dining area, a dayroom, single-user locker rooms, report writing and a laundry facility.
The building features a masonry façade with pre-cast accents, hip-style roofs and prominent entry porticos that lend to a classic New England-style architecture and complementing other municipal public buildings that are within the larger site context.
Sources: New England Real Estate Journal, Port One Architects Inc, North Branch Construction
