Planning Gear Storage for a Temporary Fire Station

Start with the department's gear-care process

Ask the people responsible for protective equipment to describe how gear is received, inspected, handled, stored and returned to service. Identify which activities will take place at the temporary location and which will continue elsewhere.

Use the department's applicable requirements and equipment manufacturers' instructions to define that process. The space brief should record the activities, equipment and responsible personnel involved. Have your safety and facilities leads review it before settling on a room arrangement.

Map the route from the apparatus to storage

A layout review should include the working relationships between vehicle parking, entrances, gear handling and crew areas. Show how the team expects equipment to move through the site during a normal shift and after a call.

Discuss any separation, access or environmental requirements with the responsible department specialists. Put those requirements on the drawing so they can be reviewed together with doors, circulation and furniture. Apparatus accommodation and vehicle routes need their own place in the site plan.

Give each space a defined purpose

FORTS temporary fire-station layouts use the FORTS 38 platform to bring crew living and working areas into a movable facility. Connected shelter arrangements allow the department to consider the relationship between sleeping rooms, shared space and selected support functions.

For gear storage, describe the proposed use in detail and ask FORTS to review it within the project scope. A practical brief includes:

• The quantity and dimensions of the equipment to be housed.
• Department-specified storage fittings and handling equipment.
• Access, circulation and security requirements.
• Required power, ventilation or other building services.
• Which equipment is department supplied and which items should be quoted.

Review the full supplied scope

Compare the proposed layout with the equipment schedule and site-services plan. Identify who supplies and installs storage fittings, who prepares connections and who checks the finished arrangement against the department's requirements.

Keep the facility proposal and the department's equipment-care program coordinated. Assign the operating procedures, training, inspection and maintenance responsibilities to the appropriate people. Document the project review and approval requirements so everyone understands the steps remaining before use.

Plan for the next assignment

FORTS shelters fold for transport and can be redeployed. Consider how storage fittings and equipment would be prepared for a later move, what travels with the shelter and what the receiving site must provide.

Share your crew size, station functions, gear inventory and intended duration with FORTS. A complete brief helps the team develop a temporary station that fits how your department works, with a clearly defined layout and equipment package.