After a fun and successful project for Henrico County Fire House 19 in the Short Pump area, BKV Group was selected to design Fire House 20 – Staples Mill. The new station is similar to the Short Pump station but some elements have been adjusted based on the results of a post-occupancy evaluation and survey of the firefighters.

Client: Henrico County, VA
Type: Fire
Size: 13,000 SF, 4 drive-through bays, 13 individual bunk rooms

The site is located contiguous with the main county courts and administration campus but has minimal street frontage. To reduce response times, the apparatus bays are positioned to allow the responding vehicles to proceed straight to a nearby highway. A dedicated return loop north of the building also allows apparatus to respond into the county campus.

Set in an industrial/commercial area and away from major traffic, Fire House 20 is constructed of materials matching the surrounding context – brick and precast concrete. Fire House 20 houses a staff of 12, plus a battalion chief, including the technical rescue team.

Parking is arranged east of the building, leaving the entire south side of the structure to look out onto the woodlands that fill the remainder of the parcel. Fire House 20 is mandated to achieve LEED Silver certification, and has been registered under LEED v4. The team is focusing on LEED credits that further the mission of the fire service.

“BKV’s performance led the county to select them for design of Staples Mill Firehouse 20. This project was recently successfully bid during the COVID epidemic. Again, BKV group’s team has constantly supported our internal processes well.”

Chuck P. Phan
Capital Projects Manager
Henrico County Division of Fire