Accepting Nominations for the 2026 Station Design Awards

Now celebrating its 13th anniversary, the prestigious Station Design Awards competition recognizes architects/construction firms and fire departments for their innovations and achievements in fire station design and construction.

Every Station Design Awards entry that is received will appear in Firehouse’s November 2026 issue and online and will be seen by more than 474,000 chiefs, officers, manufacturers and fire service personnel.

“It’s common for fire department personnel who attend the Station Design Conference to bring a copy of the November issue of Firehouse with them, having flagged particular pages of the Station Design Awards section as a means to remind them of station design aspects that caught their attention, so as to ask questions of architects in relation to their own facility projects,” Rich Dzierwa, managing editor, Firehouse, says. “Furthermore, we have been told myriad times that project managers use the Station Design Awards entries to contact fire chiefs for recommendations on architectural firms.”

The 2026 Station Design Awards program is a prime opportunity to be acknowledged as a leader in fire station design and to receive national recognition for your firm and your client.

Projects must have been completed since Jan. 1, 2022.

Judges request that only completed projects be submitted, because renderings are subject to change during approvals, budget adjustments and final construction.

The awards will recognize superlative work in nine categories:

• Career 1: Larger than 15,000 sq. ft., for full-time firefighters.
• Career 2: 15,000 sq. ft. or smaller, for full-time firefighters.
• Co-Located: A single building that houses fire, emergency response, other public safety operations, such as law enforcement, and/or municipal departments but shares amenities, including, but not limited to, a community room, a training room, reception, public toilets and decontamination. The smallest of the operations occupies at least 25 percent of the floor area. (A municipal complex that includes separate buildings for various organizations/operations isn’t considered a co-located facility.)
• Combination: A facility that houses a department that includes paid members and volunteers and/or members who are paid a stipend on a per-event basis or who are paid-on-call.
• NEW! Fire Headquarters: Facilities that combine both a fire station and administrative functions within a single building. Site circulation and parking become significantly more complicated compared with just an operational station, because public interactions become more numerous. Also complicated is the health & wellness, safety and decontamination features of the operational station because of the combination of crewmember staffing and public components of the headquarters portion.
• Renovations: A facility that was redesigned, repurposed or upgraded in a way that at least 50 percent of the existing building area was affected by the project, although this doesn’t preclude the addition of new building area.
• Satellite: Conceived and built to address the required response times for the jurisdiction. The facility doesn’t include/serve as administration/headquarters, although it can include an office for officers who are assigned to the apparatus that operate out of the facility. It includes a training area. No more than three apparatus bays are on site. No more than one pumper, one truck, one medic unit and/or one special operations rig operate out of the facility. The number of personnel who operate out of the facility doesn’t exceed eight. A satellite station in a volunteer department isn’t staffed.
• Training Facilities: Facilities that are designated for training. These can include in-service training facilities and academy/higher education training facilities
• Volunteer: Facilities that serve volunteer-only fire and emergency response (i.e., a majority of personnel respond from home/aren’t on duty at the station 24/7). Facilities include the basic core elements of a career station (e.g., decontamination, gear storage, safety zones, security and training) and address modern-day NFPA and OSHA mandates.

Entry forms are due July 31, 2026.

If your project is selected for a Station Design Award, the materials that were submitted will be used to create your project’s page(s) in the magazine. Firehouse reserves the right to reject submissions that are deemed unacceptable.

Sure it is an investment of time and effort to enter your design and construction in the 2026 Firehouse Station Design Awards program, but it is time well spent. Below are just a few of the many benefits associated with entering this year’s reviews program.

BENEFIT 1: BE RECOGNIZED
Honorees have made a groundbreaking contribution to the fire service community. They are recognized as leaders and innovators to the largest collection of fire service professionals, with coverage in Firehouse Magazine as well as on firehouse.com.

BENEFIT 2: INCREASE CREDIBILITY
Being an honoree is validation of your design and construction from a credible third party to the fire service community. It’s a great way to reinforce the quality of your design and construction to existing customers as well as potential customers.

BENEFIT 3: GAIN A SALES ADVANTAGE
Being recognized with a 2026 Firehouse Station Design Award is an additional tool for your sales team to use as part of their sales pitch. Companies recognized with this prestigious distinction can better compete for business, because recognized honorees are less risky for potential customers.

BENEFIT 4: SET YOURSELF APART
Honorees rise above the competition and instantly tell the fire service community their design and construction has something unique and worthy of review.

BENEFIT 5: IT’S GREAT PR
Fully capitalize on your successful entry with announcements that grow your visibility in the industry. We even provide a press release template to use to promote your honoree status.

BENEFIT 6: STOCK YOUR TROPHY CABINET
Top honorees are the proud recipients of a coveted 2026 Firehouse Station Design Award to be highlighted at your booth during industry shows and then showcased in your company lobby. You’ll also be able to use the 2026 Firehouse Station Design Award logo on your website and marketing literature to reinforce your success.

How to Submit

Creating an Account

• Login or create your account here.
• After you have created your account, you’ll be prompted to submit your entry.
• If you are interrupted and don’t have time to complete your entry, it will be saved as IN PROGRESS until you have time to complete it. If you forgot your password, click “lost password.” Any required fields that are not filled in will be highlighted in red when you hit SAVE.
• When your entry is complete, click ADD TO CART.
• At this point, you can either ENTER ANOTHER SUBMISSION or CHECKOUT.
• At CHECKOUT, submit your credit card details and click PROCESS (Only click PROCESS one time!).

Troubleshooting Your Electronic Entry

PROBLEM: I keep hitting SAVE but my entry is not saving.
Try This: Review your entry and confirm any required field is filled in or checked.

PROBLEM: I did NOT receive a confirmation email after submitting my entry.
Confirm you entered an accurate email address.
Confirmation emails are sent once payment is submitted.

Selection Process
Each Firehouse Station Design Awards Entry Should Address the Following:

• How your design and construction help customers meet their objectives
• The unique features of this design and construction

Judges Will Review Your Entry Based on the Following Criteria:

• Operational Efficiency & Functionality
• Safety Design
• Non-Fire Training Opportunities
• Sustainability & Energy Efficiency
• Overall Architectural Design
• Innovation in Design & Technology Integration
• Adaptability & Future-Proofing
• Site Design & Vehicular Logistics

Optional Items to Consider

• Testimonials by users.
• A 400-800-word detailed description that not only includes the basic requirements of the facility but particular details, including, where applicable, how design/layout/construction facilitates quickest response times, optimal physical and mental health and safety of the members who respond from/train at the facility, how hurdles to these matters were overcome, and why certain decisions were made. Also, briefly address each of the judging criteria, including, but not limited to, lessons learned and/or design features that most improved operations, safety, wellness and long-term flexibility. It is the latter by which judges might best recognize the excellent results that emerged in the end
• Photos and diagrams, particularly block diagrams or flow charts that help describe how the design of the facility meets customer needs, and an overall site plan and a plan (with legend) for each floor or story. (Note: Firehouse will reserve the right to publish either/both plans in conjunction with the presentation of Award winners, to better reflect to readers the relationship between operational intent and the built result.

We want your entry to be as powerful and impressive as possible. Here are a few tips that will let the judges see your entry in the most favorable light.

• Block time out on your calendar. Map out some time on your schedule so you can focus on your entry.
• Use specific, quantitative, and instantly credible language. Avoid the urge to just copy and paste the text from your marketing collateral or website.
• Be sure to answer the following questions about the facility’s design and construction. How does your expertise/experience help customers meet their objectives? How does it reduce operational expenses? What are the unique features of the facility as it compares to competing solutions? What makes it innovative?
• Get input from the design and construction team. Coworkers at your company can help provide specific examples of how the development impacts the fire service community.
• Download a preview of the entry form and compile your answers before completing the online entry. Once you’ve compiled your answers, review your draft and confirm it demonstrates the criteria mentioned in the Submission Guidelines tab.
• Back up your claims with supporting evidence, such as charts, tables, or testimonials. Make it as easy as possible for the judges to look at your entry in the most favorable light.
• Call or email if we can help!

Submission Rates

When do I need to submit my entry?
Final entries are due by July 31, 2026, before 11:59 PM EST.

What if my design won’t be announced before the deadline?
As long as it will be introduced by the beginning of November 2026, it still qualifies. (subject to change based on program year)

My design won’t be announced until after the July entry deadline. How do you ensure confidentiality?
Our judges, program director, and staff are under strict instructions not to share the details of unannounced facilities with their coworkers or anyone else. Additionally, we take pains to ensure in all cases that entries are not judged by employees of competitive companies.

Worried about non-disclosure agreements?
If you have an application that you would like to submit, but are worried that a non-disclosure agreement will prevent you from doing so, feel free to refer to the parties involved in general terms.

When will we find out if we are a finalist?
Honorees for the program will be notified in the fourth quarter of 2026

Do you have a question about whether your project or application would be a worthy entrant?
Reach out on questions like these and any others by contacting us.