Designing Fire Stations with Cancer Awareness in Mind

Across the fire service, we are learning more about the long-term health impacts of occupational exposure—particularly the link between fireground contaminants, diesel exhaust, and increased cancer risk. While PPE, gross decontamination, and clean-cab practices are critical, one of the most powerful (and often overlooked) exposure-reduction tools is fire station design.

Modern, cancer-conscious fire stations are no longer just about response efficiency and crew comfort. They are intentionally designed to separate contamination from clean living environments, reinforce healthy behavior, and make the right choices the easy choices for firefighters.

Effective and professional project managers are essential to ensure contemporary best practices are represented in your fire stations.  This article can serve as your checklist for cancer-conscious fire stations.

The Foundation: Hot, Warm, and Cold Zoning
At the core of cancer-aware station design is clear contamination zoning. Apparatus bays and exterior decontamination areas are treated as hot zones. Transition spaces—such as decontamination rooms, showers, PPE cleaning, and SCBA/EMS workspaces—form warm zones. Living areas, kitchens, dorms, offices, and fitness rooms are protected cold zones.

Effective stations provide a single, intuitive return path from the apparatus bay through gross decontamination, showering, and clean clothing before firefighters re-enter living spaces. Doors should never open directly from the bay into kitchens, dayrooms, or dorms. Visual cues—floor finishes, color changes, and signage—help reinforce these boundaries and guide daily behavior.

Diesel Exhaust: Control at the Source
Diesel exhaust remains one of the most significant chronic exposure risks in fire stations. Best practice relies on direct source-capture exhaust systems on every apparatus, interlocked to engage automatically when engines start. Apparatus bays should be maintained at negative pressure, while living spaces remain positively pressurized, ensuring airflow always moves from clean to dirty—not the reverse.

Equally important, bay HVAC systems must be completely independent from living and office systems, with no shared return air. Where feasible, drive-through bays, exterior apparatus check areas, and durable, washable bay finishes further reduce contaminant buildup.

PPE, Decontamination, and Laundry: Designed as a System
Cancer-conscious stations treat PPE handling as a workflow, not an afterthought. Exterior decontamination areas allow crews to remove bulk contamination before entering the building. Inside, dedicated decontamination vestibules, showers located directly along the return path, and warm-zone lockers support quick transitions from dirty to clean.

Turnout gear washing must comply with NFPA 1851, using dedicated extractors—not shared station laundry machines. Clean PPE storage should be physically separated from dirty handling areas and isolated from diesel exhaust and general station air. Gear drying rooms must be mechanically exhausted to the exterior, never back into occupied spaces.

Protecting the Cold Zones
Living and sleeping areas are where firefighters spend the majority of their time, and they deserve the highest level of protection. Kitchens, dorms, dayrooms, and fitness spaces should be located away from apparatus bays—ideally on a different side of the building or a separate floor.

Cold zones should have their own HVAC systems with high-efficiency filtration, positive pressurization, and materials selected for cleanability and low chemical emissions. PPE does not belong in living spaces—no hooks in hallways, no helmets in dayrooms, and no turnout gear in offices.

Systems, Monitoring, and Policy Alignment
A cancer-conscious station aligns design, systems, and policy. CO and NO₂ sensors in apparatus bays, ventilation interlocks, humidity control in gear rooms, and proper drainage for contaminated wash water all support long-term exposure reduction.

Just as important, the building must support departmental policies: shower-before-return expectations, no-gear-in-living-areas rules, clean-cab practices, and regular HVAC maintenance. When storage, circulation, and workflows are designed correctly, compliance becomes natural rather than forced.

What Chiefs Should Be Asking For
Whether planning a new station or renovating an existing one, fire chiefs should expect designers to clearly articulate how exposure reduction is being addressed. That includes zoning diagrams, mechanical narratives describing pressure relationships and filtration, PPE and decontamination workflow diagrams, and materials schedules focused on durability and low emissions.

Cancer-conscious design is not a luxury feature—it is a leadership decision. The stations we build today will shape firefighter health outcomes for decades to come.

Jeff Meston, retired Fire Chief/CalChiefs Grants Manager