fire station

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Fire station in Kostroma, Russia (1823-26).

US MUTCD sign W11-8 warning of a fire station.

A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall or stationhouse) is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus (i.e, fire engines and related vehicles), personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment. It may also have dormitory living facilities and work areas such as meeting rooms, workshop, or laundry. Living areas are sometimes arranged above the garage bays where personnel without specific station duties during the night shift are allowed to sleep unless a dispatch is called. In that situation, firefighters may have special means to allow entry to the ground floor quickly when a call for help is received such as sliding down a brass pole (called a firepole). This arrangement also allows for a raised area to hang hoses to dry to prevent damage. In a one floor station, a tower like structure is sometimes used specially for hose hanging.

An occupied station will usually have a station alarm system for receiving and annunciating an alarm, and indications of where and what caused the alarm. However, sometimes the only "alarm" is a telephone that is rung in case of emergency. In a volunteer fire department where volunteers do not staff the station, the firefighters may be summoned to the fire station by siren, radio or pagers, making a station alarm system superfluous.

In a more structured operation, full-time or on-call volunteer or career firefighters staff the station some or all of the time. There may be office space for the officers, a library of reference and other materials, and a "trophy wall" or case where the firefighters display memorabilia.

The Parque de Bombas, a 19th century fire station in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Activities in a fire station include regular inspection and cleaning of the apparatus and equipment, and continuing education in the fire service. Weekly or bi-weekly routine typically includes various drills in which firefighters practice their skills. Some fire companies also host public activities at the fire station during annual "fire prevention week" or similar, and the facility may also be used for fund-raising by the "firemen's association", "fire buffs", or "fire auxiliary."

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.

In larger cities fire stations are often named for the primary fire companies and apparatus housed there, such as "Ladder 49", or the district which they serve. Rural fire stations are usually named for the county, town or village, but may also be named for the independent fire district serving a collective geographic area.

History

New York MUTCD supplement sign NYW55-7 warning of a fire house.

In many western countries, fire brigades were originally created by insurance companies to safeguard the property of their policyholders. Those who bought policies were given a plaque that would be mounted in a prominent position on the structure to denote its protected status. These plaques can still be seen on some historic buildings, particularly in the United Kingdom. Firemen summoned to burning buildings were expected to look for these plaques before fighting the fire. If the fire was in a building covered by a rival insurer, some brigades would deliberately obstruct that company's fire brigade in an attempt to give rise to greater property damage (and subsequent expense to the insurer)^{[citation needed]}.

A Fire Station in Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. This Fire station has two Appliance Bays.	Quincy Miami Fire Station in Quincy, Ohio, United States.	LAFD Fire Station Los Angeles, California, United States.	Vicksburg Memorial Firehouse, Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States.
A fire station in Frankfurt, Germany.	Northside Fire Station in Stafford, Texas, United States.	Smithtown Fire Department of Smithtown, NY with chief's vehicle	Turvey Park Fire Station in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.

See also

• Fire engine
• Fire fighter
• Fireboat
• Fire safety
• Firemen's pole
• Firefighting worldwide
• Glossary of firefighting equipment
• Glossary of firefighting terms
• Glossary of wildland fire terms
• History of fire brigades
• Incident Command System

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External links

• Olathe, Kan. Fire Department
• West Jackson Fire Department, GA
• Raleigh and Wake County, NC fire departments
• Killorglin Fire & Rescue, County Kerry, Ireland