Fire Stations
Engine Company 16
In American urban history, the fire house has long been an institution: a well-lit, welcoming centerpiece of the neighborhood where firefighters waited ready to help all who needed help. In Chicago, the tradition is no different, as fire houses have served as the cornerstones of communities for decades.
While the role of the fire house has gone unchanged, the shape of the fire house has evolved, with the Chicago Fire Department and the Public Building Commission joining together to bring advanced new fire houses to every part of Chicago. Under Mayor Richard M. Daley's Neighborhoods Alive program, a proactive plan to replace aging fire houses - one of them more than 100 years old - with state-of-the-art new facilities was developed and carried out.
Using a prototype design, new stations have been built with increased space for training and physical fitness, spacious apparatus bays for the larger, more modern emergency vehicles, circular driveways for safer departures and arrivals, and command centers equipped with the most modern communications equipment available. Further, the designs for all new fire houses include features that qualify the building for certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.