By Alan M. Petrillo
After fire departments have a new fire station built or an older station renovated, they are faced with the issue of furnishing it to make it a usable place where firefighters live and work.
The types of furnishings that fire departments choose for their new or refurbished stations run the gamut of practical, functional, and robust furniture and furnishings aimed at making the fire stations comfortable living spaces.
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| 1 Mackenzie Architecture outfitted the community room at the City of Buckley (WA) Fire Department with tables and chairs often used for conferences and training. (Photos 1-4 courtesy of Mackenzie Architecture.) |
Guiding Departments
Ken Newell, senior principal, Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, says that furnishings generally fall under a furniture, fixtures, and equipment contract and are typically purchased by the owner of the station or a third party designated by them. “When we design a station, we would show where the various furnishings would fit,” Newell says, “and the owner would use that station planning guide to go out and purchase furnishings.”
Such furnishings would include all furniture for the day room, kitchen, offices, bunk rooms, as well as mobile turnout gear lockers, additional refrigerators, information technology equipment, and loose audio-video equipment, Newell adds.
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| 2 The day room furniture at the City of Buckley (WA) Fire Department consists of comfortable chairs in several groupings. |
Bob Mitchell, principal at Mitchell Associates Architects, says he recommends that fire departments purchase “robust and not high-concept furniture. With couches, chairs, and recliners, look at the manufacturer’s literature for the specifications and see what kind and type of construction is under the fabric.”
Mitchell also recommends that fire departments avoid purchasing furniture that is covered in cloth fabric. “You want to choose a fabric that doesn’t provide an area where germs can flourish and that can be readily cleaned,” he says. “Use Naugahyde-type fabrics that have a urethane finish that feels and acts like leather but can be cleaned and disinfected very easily.”
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| 3 Office furniture in the report room (shown) and other offices at the Hillsboro (OR) Fire Department was furnished by Mackenzie Architecture. |
Kim Doyle, project manager and interior designer for Mackenzie Architecture, says that no fire station can be called typical when it comes to furnishings because each is a little different-from how it is funded to who chooses and procures the furniture. “We always include a schematic diagram of how furniture might fit in a fire station we design,” Doyle p