2021 Firehouse Station Design – Granville Township (Notable Career 1)

To visit the Village of Granville, est. 1805 is like stepping back in time into a Norman Rockwell illustration. The place is steeped in history and tradition. The Fire Department itself is the “Story of a Community Institution”¹ developed by the Village, the Township, and the “College on the Hill” in 1885.

The new 20,825 s.f. station on South Main Street replaces the 3-structure Prospect Street station which consisted of a 1972 all-volunteer station and 2 adjacent homes on the National Register of Historic Places that were used for offices and living spaces. The existing station, located in the Village core, required firefighters to respond from the living quarters, outdoors, across the yard and into the station to access the apparatus.

The 5-bay station offers views to the Village and Denison University providing a connection back to the rich history of the departments founding. Brick, similar to the old station, in combination with board & batten siding and metal roofing found in the commercial Village Gateway District anchor the station within the existing context. The new location offers improved response times throughout the 25.7 sq. mile Township, amenities for improved firefighter health and space for on-site training.

The plan organizational concept is a rectangle with the two-story administration and living space volume shifted to fit the extremely tight 2-acre site that is split by Old River Road. The Watch Room / Night Room tower mediates between the scale of the 2-story mass and the Apparatus Bays while separating public from apparatus circulation.

Features of the design include high-efficiency HVAC units, LED lighting, a Training Mezzanine, an ICC-500 compliant storm shelter, zone design with transition vestibules, large shift-sized Physical Training Room, 10 bed Dormitory, Training Classroom, and open plan Kitchen / Dining space adjacent to the apparatus bays.

¹ “Granville Firefighters, The Story of a Community Institution”, Granville Historical Society Pocket History No.7 by B. Kevin Bennett.

Additional Information

The history of the department has deep ties with Denison University which was founded in 1831. Over the years, volunteer firefighters consisted of students, faculty, and staff from the University. The hand drawn hose cart shown in the lobby photograph was purchased from funds received through a community ice cream social and was part of the early fire apparatus used by Granville Hose Company No.1 (est.1885). Women joined the force in 1974 and were the first female firefighters in Licking County. This was in part due to a course offering at Denison on firefighting.

In 1972, after much debate, the original station was demolished so a replacement station could be constructed on the same site. The main argument was to keep the station close to the volunteers that came from the nearby businesses and university. Relocating the Main Station to its new location moves the large modern fire apparatus out of the congested village center. The 1972 station is currently being renovated to be re-purposed as a restaurant and microbrewery.

The new Main Street station provides on-site training mezzanine opportunities for confined space rescue, rope drills / stokes basket, Denver drill, ladder evolutions, and search & rescue. It also provides drive thru apparatus maneuvering for all 5 bays.

Granville’s Chief has a strong belief that the firefighters on duty should be readily available to the public during typical business hours and did not want visiting residents to perceive the fire department as relaxing all day. This approach resulted in splitting the living quarters between the two floors with the traditional day room space being located upstairs as a “Night Room”, to be used after normal business hours only. The first floor features a small lounge space off the dining area for relaxing after meals and for use at shift change.