We collaborated with Balzer + Tuck Architecture to upgrade the Round Lake Fire Department’s new station. The RLFD’s previous one-story, 6,500 SF station was 40 years old and in need of extensive repairs. It also wasn’t big enough for the department’s larger vehicles. We tore down that station and, in its place, built a brand new two-story, 14,358 SF station which has three back-in apparatus bays fitted with a MagneGrip exhaust removal system, and one double-deep drive-through bay. The new station also has enough space for all the extras that the RLFD needed including hot and cold zones, storage space, a training area, and a firefighter’s room. The exterior was designed with the adjacent Victorian historic district in mind. The front brick façade wraps around the building and goes 14 feet down the sides where it then becomes horizontal metal panels that continue around to the back. The building itself is made of structural steel which was fabricated and installed by Bonacio Steel. Bonacio Steel also installed a metal pergola on the second-floor balcony.

On the first floor off of the apparatus bays, are a turnout gear storage room with its own ventilation system, a standby room, a radio room, and a decon room. The decon room, short for decontamination, is where firefighters can clean their gear and equipment. This room is fully equipped with a gear extractor and gear dryer, shower, and double bowl sink. At the back of the building is a public entrance that opens to a community room, commercial-sized kitchen, pantry, and bathrooms. Key fob entry keeps the public areas separate from the rest of the station.

On the second floor are a business area, more storage, a training room, a mechanical room, the Fire Chief’s office, the Hose Company’s office, and a firefighter’s room that features a glass wall overlooking the apparatus bays. The interior finishes of the station consist of gypsum wallboard, VCT flooring, epoxy flooring, tile flooring, and acoustical ceiling tile.