Reading Fire Department
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 its fire service. This will replace the existing firehouse 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. Additionally, the entirety of the second floor surrounds an exterior second-floor courtyard that introduces natural light into the core of the floor plate. It also simultaneously provides a central outdoor gathering space and grilling space for fire department personnel.
A special focus on the vertical circulation layout and efficiency ensures that firefighters have a direct yet efficient travel path from the second floor to the apparatus bay. To address this requirement three separate pole drops supplement three flanking stair towers. Collectively, these elements enable firefighters to promptly and directly respond to calls from any location on the mezzanine or second floor, directly into the apparatus bay, and onto their assigned apparatus.
