The Central Fire Station for the City of New Philadelphia, Ohio, is a unique 24,500 SF facility that replaces the city’s outdated and undersized fire station. Built on a tight corner site within the city, the new fire station blends with the fabric of the downtown neighborhood. Anchoring the corner is the two-story masonry building that houses the offices and living quarters while two pre-engineered metal buildings expanding out to the east and south house the apparatus. The use of Belden brick masonry makes up the entire exterior façade and a black metal roof joins the two building types into a unified whole.

A fire station is not only a civic building where firefighters work, but it’s also their home. The design maintains an urban feel, while simultaneously providing privacy for the firefighters with the living quarters located on the second floor. The first floor includes a vestibule, lobby with seating, public restroom, exam room, a meeting room that has a kitchenette and holds up to 35 people, fitness room, and staff offices designed with commercial grade finishes and custom millwork. On the second floor is a theater that seats up to 9 people, a living room, full kitchen, and 25 beds. A centrally-located fire pole links the two floors, providing quick access to the turnout gear, which is strategically placed for direct entry to either of the two apparatus buildings. An elevator was included in the station’s design so that every visitor has the ability to access the entire facility during a fire station tour. The facility is designed with seven 16’-0” by 70’-0” pull-through apparatus bays, three to the south of the office living building, and four to the east. Rooms for ancillary needs such as decontamination, mechanical equipment, and storage are also provided. A 3-story training tower is located at the end of the south apparatus building to provide the ability for on-site training. The east apparatus building is designed so that it may easily expand eastward should the first responders' needs change, and if additional land is acquired.

It is important to mitigate the spread of carcinogens throughout the station because it is likely that accumulation of low levels of exposure to carcinogens over time leads to higher incidences of cancer in firefighters. This is why the layout of the station is very important and why two separate HVAC systems were used. One system creates positive air pressure in the living/office area, while the second creates negative air pressure to pull out any contaminants in the apparatus bay and apparatus support rooms. The architect wanted to avoid creating an overly complex design, with costly additions that do not contribute to the Firefighter’s Mission. The station is designed to be a new iconic building for the City of New Philadelphia, and yet it was affordable to build, costing $170/SF. When the station came in under the estimated budget, the Owner decided to add additional desired items, which makes up 1.8% of the final cost in change orders.