Project Spotlight: Borough of Metuchen Emergency Services Center
The Borough of Metuchen Fire Department is currently operating out of a building that is more than 100 years old. Pieced together as three separate buildings with floor plates at different elevations, the existing building on Main Street has no room for expansion, parking, or apron space, which poses a risk to pedestrian safety when apparatus and emergency personnel enter and exit the property. The non-cohesive floor levels, lack of clearance between the apparatus, failing roof, and multiple safety issues led the borough to look for a new home for the fire department in a new location.
The site selection process was extensive. After exploring multiple sites, the H2M team decided that the site of the borough’s old Ambulance Corps would be the ideal location for the new firehouse. The borough chose to demolish the new site’s existing building, acquire multiple adjacent lots, and incorporate emergency medical services (EMS) into the firehouse to create a new emergency services center.
One major challenge was the 20-foot-wide drainage and sanitary sewer easements that run through the site. This complicated the design because this part of the property must remain accessible for maintenance at all times and thus cannot have any structures above them. To accommodate this, H2M will keep all fire and EMS-related elements out of this area, which will be reserved for site circulation and parking. The center itself will be two buildings: the 12,240-square-foot, single-story main station and a 3,600-square-foot prefabricated vehicle storage outbuilding.
The main station will have direct access off the main road for quick response, an adequate apron for response safety, three double-deep bays with dual front and rear access, and one single bay with front-facing access. The bays will have a direct source capture vehicle exhaust extraction system to prevent the spread of carcinogens, trench drains to reduce ponding (which leads to slip and fall concerns), and adequate clearances to ensure operational safety. The operational support spaces will include decontamination facilities with direct exterior access to ensure immediate capture of contamination when returning from a call; a dedicated turnout gear room with direct access to the bay floor and quick access from the day room; a workshop for maintenance projects; a radio and communications room; and storage for self-contained breathing apparatus and EMS supplies.
Non-operational spaces will include a 1,000-square-foot multipurpose training room, fitness rooms, and day room with a kitchen and comfortable seating. The station will also include a community-accessible fire prevention office for the fire inspector, office space for ranking personnel, and an emergency operations center conference room to use in times of disaster. It was also important for the design to consider the future potential for a transition to a paid service and thus incorporated three bunk rooms.
The borough’s mayor wanted this center to be a staple of the community. To that end, the exterior design includes a prominent tower with a brick veneer, arches, and other similar geometries.
