Site Planning & Fire Apparatus Specifications

With the interest of preservation of life and property in mind, we have developed these information packets to advise the public of codes and standards developed to address the specific needs for emergency vehicle access to and around proposed buildings being constructed or remodeled, having a change of use, or going through other modifications.

Dealing with many different types of emergencies, therefore, the emergency services use a variety of vehicles. Some are very large and require much more area to maneuver and operate than most others.  For example, ladder trucks are in excess of 40 feet in length and when set up to operate with outriggers deployed, they can exceed 15 feet in width.  Additional room is needed for fire personnel to utilize the equipment stored on the sides of the trucks.  Also, the number of vehicles needed on an incident and the room to quickly accommodate multiple apparatus is crucial.  Depending on the situation, structure fires require a lot of manpower and equipment.  A typical structure fire may require as many as five engine companies; two ladder trucks; Incident Command Center, support vehicles, ambulances, and police cars.  Larger incidents would, of course, dictate a larger response.

The effectiveness of emergency response and firefighting operations is directly related to the proper installation and maintenance of fire access roadways, the proper sitting of hydrants, adequate water supply, and access to structures.

One of the basic essentials needed to control and extinguish a structure fire is an adequate water supply. Designing the water supply for new buildings is an important part of the initial planning for new development projects whether the new building is a 1500 square foot house or a 200,000 square foot retail store.