Burton Fire
+ EMS Station

Virginia Beach, VA

Type:

Civic

Client:

City of Virginia Beach

At Burton Fire Station, discovery extended beyond operational requirements to ask what it truly means to design a place where firefighters and EMS personnel live, work, and recover. The newly built facility emerged as a key component of the Burton Station Community Plan, aligning life-safety infrastructure with broader neighborhood investment. The project considers health, wellness, and resilience as integral to performance, while also responding to its location within a historically underserved community. Partnering with a firm deeply focused on safety and well-being, Dills Architects approached the station as both civic infrastructure and community presence—balancing technical rigor with humane design. The result is a facility that supports those who serve while respecting and strengthening the context it inhabits.

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Project Type: Fire and EMS station serving a growing neighborhood 

Delivery: Public safety project with the City of Virginia Beach and FGM Architects 

Scope + Systems: 

Status + Timing: Opened March 2023 

Collaborators:
FGM Architects  |  public safety subject matter expert
A.R. Chesson Construction Co., Inc.  |  construction management
GET Solutions Inc.  |  geotechnical design
MSA Professional Services, Inc.  |  wetland + stormwater assessment
VHB  |  civil engineering
PACE Collaborative  |  mechanical + electrical engineering
Speight, Marshall & Francis, P.C.  |  structural engineering
WPL Site Design  |  landscape architecture

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Designed to support 30 firefighters and 6 EMS personnel, the station includes apparatus bays, administrative offices, a training/community room, day rooms, and specialized spaces like PPE storage and decontamination areas. Prioritizing safety and efficiency, the project incorporated hot zone planning and advanced ventilation systems to protect personnel from exposure to harmful substances.

Download the Info Sheet