Fire Station #3 has served as a laboratory for the Tallahassee Fire Department, a state of the art facility used as a testing ground for equipment, space requirements and technical systems in fire fighting techniques in North Florida. It consists of a one story, four double depth apparatus bays in a drive-thru configuration sandwiched between its public administrative zone street-side of the Apparatus area and its private residential zone away from the street facing into a residential neighborhood. This layout minimized the travel distance from the administration/living quarters to the trucks. This station was designed as the Emergency Operations Center for the City of Tallahassee, and its corresponding “control” areas were located in the Administrative zone.

Designed for maximum energy savings, this station was laid out in a passive solar configuration with its long axis facing east-west and its broad facades facing north and south. Walls and roof were properly insulated, and trees, shrubbery and overhangs were used in the south to minimize solar exposure to the fenestration.

This station bid and was completed on time and under budget.