Everything in firefighting, it seems, has expanded. Today’s larger communities require more trucks. Today’s larger trucks require more space. Today’s extensive paperwork requires more offices. All these developments make yesterday’s firehouses ill equipped to accommodate the departments within them.

For an architect, the challenge is to meet the requirements of the modern fire district—while retaining the often historic character of the old firehouse. It is a challenge the architects at Bovenzi have answered successfully, time and again.

The Carman Firehouse presented a daunting challenge: adding three new bays and other alterations on a lot just large enough for the current structure. In addition, the function hall needed alterations, including an elevator, to conform to ADA standards, requiring even more space.

To complete the task, Bovenzi drew on its long experience in creating comfortable, attractive spaces within tight space constraints. The result: an innovative structural design that made room for everything in just 17,000 square feet. The building featured not only the new bays, but also meeting space, a commercial kitchen, and a training facility. Existing bays were retrofitted to accommodate standard-size trucks. And the team tucked an elevator into a small side extension, saving space while ensuring ADA compliance.

East Glenville Firehouse

The East Glenville Fire District had outgrown its original 1950s station to costly effect: with bays too small to hold modern trucks, fire officials were ordering custom-built smaller rigs at very high cost. While the time had clearly come for a new station, the town wanted the Dutch architecture of the historic building preserved.

In response, Bovenzi created a thoroughly modern firehouse—with a thoroughly historic look. In just 14,000 square feet, the building included four drive-through apparatus bays (sized to standard trucks), meeting and office space, ADA-compliant features, even the fitness facilities that modern firefighters require to stay in top form. At the same time, an artful blending of eye-catching brick with split-face concrete block paid homage to the old firehouse’s Dutch heritage.

Cobleskill Firehouse

The Cobleskill Fire Department asked Bovenzi to replace a condemned building within the rigorous requirements of a historic district. In addition, the fire department—with an ambulance and brand-new ladder truck among its equipment—needed an increase in both size and number of bays.

To meet all the requirements, Bovenzi fashioned a striking combination of functionality and historic detail. At 17,000 square feet, the pre-engineered steel structure was designed to reduce costs, comfortably house all of Cobleskill’s equipment, and withstand normal fire department wear and tear. Meanwhile, the architects infused the building with elements that echoed the neighborhood’s Victorian character, including a bracketed cornice, fish-scale shingles, and an elegant brass firefighter as the cupola.