A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire hoses and other specialized equipment. Fire stations frequently contain working and living space for the firefighters and support staff.
In large US cities, fire stations are often named for the primary fire companies and apparatus housed there, such as "Ladder 49". Other fire stations are named based on the district, neighborhood, town or village where they are located, or given a number.
Facilities
American MUTCD sign W11-8 warning of a fire station
A fire station will at a minimum have a garage for housing at least one fire engine. There will also be storage space for equipment, though the most important equipment is stored in the vehicle itself. The approaches to a fire station are often posted with warning signs, and there may be a traffic signal to stop or warn traffic when apparatus are leaving or returning to the station.
Fire stations have often been built with a tower, for purposes that have changed with time. A drill tower is used for practicing high-rise rescue, while a hose tower is used for hanging hoses to dry to prevent rot.[1] Historically, towers were lookouts for spotting fires.[1]
Activities at a fire station include regular inspection and cleaning of the apparatus and equipment, and training drills in which the firefighters practice their skills. Some fire companies also host public activities at the fire station during events such as a "fire prevention week", and the facility may also be used for fund-raising by the "firemen's association", "fire buffs", or "fire auxiliary".
Occupied stations
If the station is occupied full-time by career firefighters, it will contain living quarters and work areas, where they wait until a callout comes through. Career firefighters are usually able to sleep during a night shift, so these stations will also have dormitories. There will be an alarm system to alert them of an emergency call, and to give some indication of where and what the emergency is. In some small fire departments, the only alarm may be a telephone for receiving calls.
Many fire stations were built with the living quarters above the garage. This arrangement is common for fire stations built in a crowded city. The fireman's pole was invented to allow firefighters to quickly descend to the garage. In modern times, agencies such as the National Fire Protection Association have argued that these pose a safety hazard.[2] Modern fire stations are often built with the living quarters on the same level as the garage.
Unoccupied stations
Some fire stations are not regularly occupied, with the firefighting carried out by volunteer or retained firefighters. In this case, the firefighters are summoned to the fire station by siren, radio or pagers, where they will then deploy the fire engine. These fire stations may still have office space for the firefighters, a library of reference and other materials, and a "trophy wall" or case where the firefighters display memorabilia.
^ ab"Typology: Fire Stations". The Architectural Review. 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
^Newcomb, Tim (23 December 2010). . Time. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fire stations.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Fire station.
Look up fire station in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
January 18, 2023
fire, station, firehall, redirects, here, canadian, performing, arts, centre, firehall, arts, centre, fireman, hall, firemen, hall, redirect, here, hall, alfred, york, fireman, hall, york, hall, york, city, firemen, hall, york, firehouse, redirects, here, othe. Firehall redirects here For the Canadian performing arts centre see Firehall Arts Centre Fireman s hall and Firemen s hall redirect here For the hall in Alfred New York see Fireman s Hall New York For the hall in New York City see Firemen s Hall New York Firehouse redirects here For other uses see Firehouse disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fire station news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message A fire station also called a fire house fire hall firemen s hall or engine house is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles personal protective equipment fire hoses and other specialized equipment Fire stations frequently contain working and living space for the firefighters and support staff Fire stations of varying sizes and architecture source source source source source source source source source source Fire engine in front of the fire station in Tomaszow Mazowiecki Poland In large US cities fire stations are often named for the primary fire companies and apparatus housed there such as Ladder 49 Other fire stations are named based on the district neighborhood town or village where they are located or given a number Facilities Edit American MUTCD sign W11 8 warning of a fire station A fire station will at a minimum have a garage for housing at least one fire engine There will also be storage space for equipment though the most important equipment is stored in the vehicle itself The approaches to a fire station are often posted with warning signs and there may be a traffic signal to stop or warn traffic when apparatus are leaving or returning to the station Fire stations have often been built with a tower for purposes that have changed with time A drill tower is used for practicing high rise rescue while a hose tower is used for hanging hoses to dry to prevent rot 1 Historically towers were lookouts for spotting fires 1 Activities at a fire station include regular inspection and cleaning of the apparatus and equipment and training drills in which the firefighters practice their skills Some fire companies also host public activities at the fire station during events such as a fire prevention week and the facility may also be used for fund raising by the firemen s association fire buffs or fire auxiliary Occupied stations Edit If the station is occupied full time by career firefighters it will contain living quarters and work areas where they wait until a callout comes through Career firefighters are usually able to sleep during a night shift so these stations will also have dormitories There will be an alarm system to alert them of an emergency call and to give some indication of where and what the emergency is In some small fire departments the only alarm may be a telephone for receiving calls Many fire stations were built with the living quarters above the garage This arrangement is common for fire stations built in a crowded city The fireman s pole was invented to allow firefighters to quickly descend to the garage In modern times agencies such as the National Fire Protection Association have argued that these pose a safety hazard 2 Modern fire stations are often built with the living quarters on the same level as the garage Unoccupied stations Edit Some fire stations are not regularly occupied with the firefighting carried out by volunteer or retained firefighters In this case the firefighters are summoned to the fire station by siren radio or pagers where they will then deploy the fire engine These fire stations may still have office space for the firefighters a library of reference and other materials and a trophy wall or case where the firefighters display memorabilia See also EditFirefighting List of fire stations Fire department Fireman s poleReferences Edit a b Typology Fire Stations The Architectural Review 2016 02 03 Retrieved 2019 05 07 Newcomb Tim 23 December 2010 Sorry Kids Fire Stations Are Ditching Fire Poles Time Archived from the original on December 25 2010 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fire stations Wikiquote has quotations related to Fire station Look up fire station in Wiktionary the free dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fire station amp oldid 1129980379, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
