Growth in New Braunfels, Texas, meant the fire department needed to add another station to its coverage area. The department used a previously developed prototype design to build Fire Station 7 at the front of the city’s 12-acre municipal utility complex.
Chief Ruy Lozano says the aesthetics of Fire Station 7 create an environment where firefighters can decompress and relax after calls and provide a safe and healthy place where they live and work. Lozano points out that the department’s 165 firefighters respond to 13,500 fire and emergency medical services (EMS) calls a year, protecting the city’s population of 110,000 that swells by an additional 40,000 people during the summer tourism season.
Meredith Hayford, senior associate architect for BRW Architects, says Fire Station 7 is a twin of Fire Station 2 that BRW designed for the city in 2022. The two-story station has four double-deep drive-through apparatus bays with quick-opening bifold doors on the front and overhead doors on the back. Along one wall of the apparatus bays are a turnout gear storage room that includes a gear washing extractor and dryer, a workshop, EMS storage room, a utility room, and a janitor’s closet.
The first floor also includes a public lobby and vestibule; a battalion chief’s dorm with an in-suite bathroom, office, and briefing room; two officer’s dorms that share a Jack and Jill bathroom; adjacent offices and briefing rooms; an open concept kitchen/dining area/day room; three pantries; and an exercise room with a large overhead door leading to a covered private patio.
Hayford says that Fire Station 7’s façade features native limestone that echoes the look of an existing building on the site, green Hardie siding that pays homage to the hue of Texas sage plants, wood soffits, and metal panels. The building’s shed roof is made up of standing seam metal panels, she adds.
Matthew Bushnell, New Braunfels assistant chief, says the station’s location places it closer to Interstate 35, ensuring swift emergency responses. “Eighty percent of the department’s calls are for medical emergencies,” Bushnell points out, “therefore, the positioning of the station’s medic unit near one of the nation’s busiest interstate corridors is vitally important. Additionally, this location provides support for a planned fire training facility at the rear of the complex.”
Bushnell notes that the station is designed as a double-company station with its second floor having 10 individual firefighter dorm rooms, each with its own individual air conditioning controls; a men’s shower room and bathroom; a women’s shower room and bathroom; and an elevator. Embracing tradition, the station includes two brass fire poles within the combination stairwell/airlock spaces, allowing quick access to the bays from the second floor bedrooms.
He says Fire Station 7 has a Westnet system for alerting in individual dorm rooms. “The firefighters key in the unit they are working on and will only be alerted if that unit is called,” Bushnell says. “We have prealert screens in the hallways and apparatus bays, and an Opticom traffic pre-emption system for the traffic light outside the station.”
Hayford says the interior design of the station features light-colored stone walls that match the exterior, wood acoustical ceilings, and clerestory lighting that creates a comfortable and inviting open concept living area. “Expansive windows in the watch office and upstairs study offer excellent views of the station’s front entry, enhancing the crew’s experience while writing reports and completing training,” she says.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
