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Firehouse | Fire Department | Public Safety Administration | EOC

MEP Engineering Design for Fire Stations, Firehouses, Fire Departments, Public Safety Facilities

In the world of commercial buildings, fire stations present a unique design challenge for teams of architects and engineers. These municipal facilities provide an essential safety need for the local community. Fire houses are operational 24/7 and are a combination of office spaces, living spaces, and garage spaces. Because of the building operation schedule and the diversity of spaces, fire stations require a different approach than most buildings for the optimal MEP system .

Find the Right MEP Engineering Firm for Your Fire Station Project

If you are looking for an MEP engineer for your fire station project, you may not know the best questions to ask to gauge their experience and credibility. No matter the type of project you’re working on, construction projects require partnership between all parties.

Here are some items to look out for when seeking an MEP engineering firm for your fire station project:

Experience in Fire Stations – Because fire station projects are such a unique type of project, look for an MEP firm that has designed fire stations before. For example, RWB has designed over 50 fire stations in different municipalities.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Design – Look for teams that have experience designing fire stations on a BIM platform, such as Revit MEP. Projects with Building Information Modeling (BIM) have more streamlined design processes, improving efficiencies and accelerating the design completion.
Adapting to Client Requirements – Every fire house is different. Some projects have sustainability requirements, while other projects have a fixed budget. Look for an MEP design team that has experience with different Owner Project Requirements (OPRs) and tailoring their work to fit an owner’s needs.

MEP engineers may need to survey your existing facility for renovation and expansion projects. This is especially true if there is any equipment that will be reused in the new design. A building survey will help MEP engineering teams decide if and how they can modify the existing HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems for reuse. Finally, MEP engineers will need to conduct new design calculations, such as building load, ventilation requirements, and energy models.

Colocation, Collaboration, and Community

A recent trend is the co-location of fire stations and other community services, such as police stations, 911 call centers, and emergency operation centers (EOCs). This is very common in smaller municipalities, although we are seeing larger cities take this approach with new construction. A benefit to locating public facilities all in one building or complex is that it facilitates cross training and collaboration among these specialized teams. From a facility standpoint, all departments benefit from shared facilities while reducing overall square footage requirements.

Another trend is the thoughtful inclusion of community engagement in building design. For example, we have helped design several Life Safety Parks. Life Safety Parks offer public education opportunities, like CPR classes or civics lessons for students. It’s becoming more common to see life safety parks or other public education facilities included as a part of a fire station project.

Unique Fire Station MEP Design Challenges for Renovations, Expansions, and New Construction

Fire stations may seem like a simple building project. On the contrary, the buildings that our fire departments call a second home can be quite complex. Some of the design challenges associated with a firehouse project include:

Always Operational

A fire station is occupied every single hour of the year. While other buildings can benefit from energy-saving design strategies during unoccupied hours, MEP designers must find other ways to improve energy efficiency in fire station designs. In addition, it’s important to include generators and emergency power for these facilities in the overall design.
Temporary Facilities

For renovation and expansion fire station projects, the fire fighting doesn’t stop while construction takes place. Sometimes, MEP engineers need to work in phases to allow for the building to be partially used or occupied.
Space Use Diversity

Fire stations have a unique combination of space usage. Most fire houses have an office area for administrative work, classroom training, and community education areas. There are also living spaces (including kitchen, locker rooms, gyms, and sleeping areas) for fire fighters. Because of this mixed use of spaces, several building codes apply to fire stations than other facilities.

Garage Spaces

MEP designers must add provisions in their design for the garage area where fire trucks are housed. There are many design approaches to this, including direct vehicle exhaust extraction, general ventilation, and other apparatus bay ventilation systems.
Storm Shelters

Starting in 2015, the International Building Code (IBC) requires the inclusion of a community storm shelter in any first responder facility. It’s also a requirement for K-12 facilities . RWB has experience designing and reviewing over 40 storm shelters in the DFW area.
Local Municipal Requirements

Most fire stations are civic projects , which means local governments fund them. That can mean strict budgets and energy consumption goals. It’s important to find a design team that has experience in working within the landscape of building codes for different cities and towns. Some municipalities have other sustainability requirements, such as storm water management or solar PV panels.

MEP Engineer for Fire Stations in Dallas, TX and Surrounding Areas

Public safety facilities provide an essential and critical service to the local community. RWB Consulting Engineers has extensive experience in designing fire stations with many different project requirements. Since 1986 , our staff has been delivering excellence in engineering services. Contact our team to discuss engaging our services in designing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for your fire station project.