Fire Station No. 45

Summarize the project's program, features and achievements?

Fire Station No. 45 stands as a modern, purpose-built emergency services facility serving the growing needs of a rural area in Ottawa. Delivered through a competitive design-build contract, this 12,000-square-foot facility features a robust 5,100-square-foot apparatus bay with three front and rear doors, a hose drying tower, and dedicated zones for gear storage, workshops, and mechanical systems.

Beyond its functional core, the station house supports four platoon rooms, a fitness area, lounge spaces, and multi-use training rooms. Designed with sustainability in mind, the building is targeting LEED® Silver certification and was constructed using tilt-up concrete—an intentional shift from traditional cast-in-place methods. This provided structural efficiency, aesthetic consistency, and timely delivery in the face of market-wide supply and labor challenges.

The project reflects the City of Ottawa’s long-term strategy for resilient, community-embedded emergency services, and demonstrates a repeatable model for future civic infrastructure.

What obstacles were overcome related to the schedule, budget, program, specification, site, etc. on this project?

Fire Station 45 was built on an undeveloped rural site, which posed logistical and infrastructure challenges from the outset. The team worked through limited access and undeveloped utilities to ensure a successful build.

Choosing tilt-up concrete construction proved both innovative and necessary. It addressed two critical issues: supply chain disruptions impacting traditional materials and labor shortages in Ottawa’s construction market. The approach allowed the team to meet schedule targets while still meeting structural and visual expectations.

Lessons from previously built Fire Stations 36 and 55 were reviewed and integrated into this build. This proactive process improvement helped refine timelines, mitigate risks, and enhance cost control.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project?

Tilt-up construction provided a dual-role system—serving as both structure and finished exterior—which reduced trades and accelerated timelines.

The design consolidated critical emergency response functions into one cohesive facility. Mechanical/electrical mezzanines, separate gear and clean zones, and specialized equipment bays were integrated without compromising flow or response times.

• Hose drying tower integrated into structural layout.
• Zoned mechanical and electrical rooms on the mezzanine.
• Platoon rooms with spatial separation and shared access to training and fitness zones.

Each element required thoughtful coordination within the tilt-up framework to ensure layout efficiency and code compliance.