By Johnny Fong

For Fire Chief

An architect new to fire-station design contacted me to discuss sleeping quarters. He had read about the use of individual sleeping quarters, but was in the process of designing a fire station with a single dorm room. “What’s better,” he asked.

There’s no easy answer to this question.There are three basic types of sleeping quarters:

• A single large bunk/dorm room without walls to separate individual sleeping areas. The beds typically are lined up side by side and occasionally are separated by some sort of fixture, usually a locker or other storage unit.
• Separate sleeping quarters for each firefighter. Such rooms typically feature a bed, desk, and a locker or storage unit for each shift.
• A compromise solution

Sleeping-quarter design often is driven by budgetary factors. Building one large sleeping room with 10 beds is much cheaper than 10 individual sleeping quarters separated by 6-foot-high walls, which in turn are cheaper than building 10 individual sleeping quarters separated by full-height walls. Add to this the costs of doors, lighting fixtures, wiring and HVAC considerations.

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