Reading Fire Department

Location

Berks County, PA

The 9th & Marion fire station is a 15,903 SF two-story station and the latest project in the City of Readings effort to modernize it’s fire service. It will replace the existing firehouse, located one block south of the project site and infill the previously vacant urban lot. The first floor includes a three-lane apparatus bay, independently ventilated turnout gear storage, a multi-tier decontamination area, and fire gear storage. A mezzanine level overlooks the apparatus bay which provides auxiliary storage and can host various in-station high angle training exercises. The second floor of the facility provides a kitchen, day room, study, fitness area, administrative space, and bunk rooms for fire department employees.

The entirety of the second floor surrounds an exterior, second-floor courtyard that introduces natural light into the core of the floor plate, while simultaneously providing a central outdoor gathering space and grilling space for fire department personnel. Special focus was given to the layout and efficiency of vertical circulation, ensuring that firefighters have a direct and efficient travel path from the second floor into the apparatus bay. To address this requirement three separate pole drops supplement three flanking stair towers. Collectively these elements allow firefighters to respond to calls in a swift and direct manner from any location on the mezzanine or second floor, directly into the apparatus bay, and onto their assigned apparatus.

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