DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE SERVICE STATION 9TH MILE CORNER ENUGU

Description

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE SERVICE STATION 9TH MILE CORNER ENUGU

CHAPTER ONE                                    

1.0                            INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                                                                                

Fire: A friend to man and a threat to humanity. The word “FIRE“is one of the most dreaded expressions in every language because it has proved to be as dangerous as its usefulness. Controlled fire is useful to man but uncontrolled fire is one of man’s worst enemies. Thousands of lives and properties are lost each year through uncontrolled fire.

1.1PROBLEM STATEMENT

Most of the fire service stations in the country are dilapidate, no architectural interest. Are mostly sited in the areas that are not located within the residential areas which are bound to have higher risk of fire outbreak.

Most of the fire service station does not have enough space for storage of chemicals and fire equipments.

There is no good integration of the building into the landscape and the urban area of the town.

1.2 GOALS OF THE PROJECT DESIGN

There are many goals to be fulfilled in the design of this fire station. Among these are:-

1. Achievement of architectural aesthetics within the fire station.
2. Achievement of ample space for effective maneuvering of vehicles within the station and in relation to the highway.
3. Achievement of effective functional relationship in the various parts of the station.
4. Achievement of good communication links within the station.

1.3AIM

Fire stations are functional building with strictly utilitarian emphasis. The main aim of this design is to provide a related, civilized atmosphere in the midst of a tough working environment that is a place where the workers can relax  and enjoy themselves when on stand by or off-duty.

To achieve this, the fire service station will be made to be as aesthetically appealing as possible. Recreation rooms and sports activities will also be provided as much as possible.

The landscape will be such as to create a relaxing effect and provide an atmosphere of privacy for the workers.

Another aim of this design is to solve the communication problems inherent in the design of a fire service station that is:

1. To provide separate circulation systems for weary work stained firemen returning from calls or duty, architects going to the fire-preventing offices for approval of their drawings and other visitors calling at the station.
2. Firemen should be able to leave and be on their way 30 to 45 second after receiving a fire alarm, in this regard,  the crew room, recreation room, control room and appliance bay should be designed in such a way that communication between  then will take as little time as possible.
3. The vehicular access and exist points in the site should have enough radius curve and visibility to allow the vehicle to have a fast exist out of the station.

1.4OBJECTIVE

Objective of the fire station are to provide the following

1. A good maintenance section,
2. Provide rooms large enough for the storage of chemicals, fire extinguishers and other equipment
3. To provide a drill tower which is architectural and a good training ground for the students and workers in the fire station.

1.5  SCOPE

There are many scope to be fulfilled in the design of this fire station. Among these are:

1. Achievement of architectural aesthetics within the fire station.
2. Achievement of ample space for effective movement of vehicles within the station and in relation to the highway.
3. Integration of effective good communication links within the station.
4. Integration of the fire station into a well landscape environment.
5. Achievement of effective functional relationship in the various parts of the station.

1.6       MOTIVATION

The rate of increase in fire outbreak throughout Nigeria is becoming alarming especially during the dry season. There has been a steady increase in the number of lives lost and the amount of property damaged over the years.

Most Nigeria towns or city do not have well equipped fire station. The few places where fire station exists, the structures are totally unsuitable. The task of providing modern fire stations for effective fire coverage is important if the town and its inhabitants must sustain the advancement of the 20^th century including large scale industrialization and commercial enterprises.

In most cases, Ogui fire station, Enugu State, it is appalling that the existing fire station is in its most rudimentary form. It lacks operational, administrative, training and recreational facilities. It is therefore calls for complete re-designing in order to save the state from its ever increasing annual loss of property from fire incident.

The aesthetic aspect of this fire station leaves a lot to be desired. The building has a square shape created for the storage of appliances and fire men. No attempt has been made to create any aesthetic appeal in the building.

Fire men are just like any other human being. They appreciate beautiful things and like to stay around them. The station is an alternative home for fire-men away from home and should be treated as such.

The boldness of the fire station is a different story altogether. Landscape and nature are not even considered as part of the design.

In all the fire stations, in the century, you can hardly see any trees or plants around the premises of the fire station. Human beings have a natural affinity to beautiful landscapes. It softens the rigidity of Architecture and creates a cool atmosphere for relaxation. The lack of Aesthetic appeal and landscape in our fire station are the most serious motivating factors that led me to choose the design topic ‘’fire service station for my project.

I intend to create a home, a relaxation center and an enjoyable working place for fire fighters.

We are always complaining of the inefficient of our fire-fighters. I believe that if good conditions are created for the fire fighters, efficient of the fire fighters will increase and so there will be reduction in the number of disastrous fire incident in the state.

1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY / PROJECT DESIGN METHOD

Several methods were used for a successful completion of this project. Among these are interviews, questionnaires, visit to fire stations and deductions from books and journals. The first step is to choose a site. I went to 9^th mile caner Enugu, which is the location of the proposed fire service station and analyzed the proposed site. The site satisfied the requirement for a fire service station.

I visited the different station in the country including the existing Enugu fire service station, their training school and Owerri fire station. I conducted research in these stations through the use of these methods:

1. QUESTIONAIRES: Questionnaires were given to the chief fire officers in the state to find out the existing conditions in the fire stations.
2. INTERVIEWS: I interviewed some of the firemen, the students and the fire preventing officers.
3. PICTURES: I conducted a tour of the fire service station and took several pictures. All these were combined together to get a comprehensive study of the fire service station merit and demerits.
4. BOOK AND JOUNALS: I went through journals and studied examples of foreign case studies. I also did an appraisal of these fire station with as view to incorporate the merits in the propose fire service station website in other to incorporate the merits in the proposed fire service station design.
5. INTERNET: I browse through different fire station website in other to incorporate the merit in the proposed fire service station design.