Fire Stations Around the World

Fire stations must be designed with hyper-efficiency and functionality in mind, because seconds count when an emergency is called. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be beautiful too—and they often are. From a design carved into the side of a mountain to an icon of American postmodern architecture, we’ve rounded up 12 stunning fire stations from around the world.

Box (alarm): A mailslot or other file system containing a notecard with a planned response to an incident type. For example, a reported structure fire on Some Road might be assigned box 6. The “box” number is then referenced on the initial dispatch to determine which apparatus from the various stations should be sent. The system greatly facilitated the process of getting the right apparatus to an emergency and eliminated confusion as to which department was responsible for an incident. Later, boxes also contained escalation procedures – on the “2nd, 3rd, etc.” box would indicate which apparatus should be dispatched next.

Crew: Members of a fire company, including the captain and lieutenant. Typically, the crew is broken down into platoons: Platoon A is on watch when a fire occurs. Platoon B is on the scene, and so forth. The term is also used to describe the rotation of personnel between shifts.

Engine: A pumper truck or other vehicle for carrying water or other firefighting materials. Traditionally, engines were pulled by hand tubs that had to be hauled to the scene of an emergency. The term was changed to pumper after hydraulics were introduced.

Ladder: A device that extends from a roof of a building to facilitate the climbing or rappelling of firefighters to an emergency site. Originally, ladders were pulled by hand or on rope, but modern firefighting is generally accomplished by rappelling down the sides of a building and dragging hoselines to the ground.

Rescue: A firefighting technique for rescuing people trapped in buildings or vehicles. Sometimes used in combination with a hoist, or Jaws of Life, for removing a person from a vehicle, confined space, or trench.

Squad: A group of firefighters, usually five to six, who handle specific types of emergencies involving hazardous occupancies. They are trained to inspect structures and provide assistance to building occupants in the event of an emergency.

Fire buff: A person with a strong interest in fire fighting and emergency services, but not a member of the fire department or any other emergency service.

Standard operating procedure, or guideline: A set of rules for a fire department, covering such topics as how to respond to certain kinds of incidents, training requirements, use of equipment, radio procedures, and so on. Some fire departments call them guidelines instead of procedures, though the terms are generally interchangeable.

In the United States, a fire station is a location where local firefighters keep their trucks and other firefighting equipment. Some are staffed by full-time firefighting personnel, while others house part-time firefighters who have on-call duties. When these personnel are summoned to an emergency, they leave their home fire station for the response area.