Omaha Fire Station #31

Challenge

The City of Omaha, Nebraska, needed to replace the Fire Department's Fire and Medical Station #31. The existing station, built in 1947, had served the community for more than seven decades and had become a beloved local landmark. The department needed a new facility that could support firefighter wellness, safety, efficiency, and lower operating costs, while also preserving or improving emergency response times. Just as important, the new station had to honor the character and pride the original building had instilled in the neighborhood.

However, the oddly shaped 2.5-acre parcel selected as the new home for the station presented immediate challenges as it came with steep elevation changes and limited access for emergency vehicles. Delivering a community-centered station on a difficult site while respecting the past became the central challenge. 

Solution

SEH served as the design architect, leading programming, concept, and schematic design and providing site engineering, while working collaboratively with a local architectural firm throughout the process. Together, the team delivered a 17,000 sq. ft. station with 11 individual bedrooms for first responders, designed to meet current operational needs and support future growth.

Honoring Community Identity 

Station #31 was an icon of the neighborhood, and preserving that identity was essential to the client. Our partnering architectural firm carried forward the original station’s concrete and teal color palette and familiar retro bump-outs. Rather than changing what the community recognized and valued, the new station expands on it, delivering a larger facility that honors the legacy, history, and neighborhood pride of the original. 

Creating a Safe, Efficient, Modern Facility 

Inside, the station is designed to prioritize firefighter health and safety. Hot, warm, and cold zones are carefully organized to limit cross-contamination between clean and dirty areas. Decontamination and dirty-gear laundry rooms are positioned directly off the apparatus bays to minimize travel, while clean-gear storage is separated to protect equipment from exhaust, UV exposure, and other contaminants. Each of the station’s four bays, arranged two deep to accommodate a total of eight trucks, is equipped with an exhaust capture system to maintain high indoor air quality. 

Response time was another central design driver. To help the department maintain its Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, which evaluates a community's fire protection, the team tested multiple floor plan configurations using computer simulations that mapped walking travel times from offices, dorms, the fitness room, and other regularly occupied areas. The final layout features a single main corridor linking all key spaces directly to the apparatus bays. This approach streamlines movement and supports rapid response. 

Overcoming Site Constraints 

The site’s challenges started with its dramatic topography, as the grade dropped more than 13 feet across the property. To overcome the steep slope, the team strategically regraded the property to balance cut and fill, reducing the severity of the drop and establishing level building pads. During earthwork operations, crews encountered buried debris that had to be over-excavated, hauled off-site, and replaced with engineered, properly compacted fill to ensure long-term stability.

Once the area was ready and plans were underway, close coordination with the Omaha Fire Department was critical, particularly for the movement of emergency vehicles. The department required the front apron, or driveway, to be wide enough for a fire truck to complete a full U-turn, and turning-movement simulations were used to confirm that the planned layout could safely accommodate that maneuver within the tight footprint. To build confidence, the team went a step further, visiting a training site to physically measure and demonstrate the space so firefighters could see firsthand that the maneuver would work in real-world conditions. 

With limited room available for stormwater management, the team took a strategic approach to reduce runoff while maintaining full operational functionality. Impervious surfaces were minimized wherever possible, and site grading and drainage patterns were carefully designed to channel water efficiently. This balance ensured that stormwater was managed responsibly without compromising access, maneuverability, or day-to-day operations for firefighters, creating a safer and more sustainable site overall. 

Today, Fire and Medical Station #31 reflects the Omaha Fire Department’s commitment to safety, efficiency, and community pride. It honors the legacy of the original station while providing a modern, healthy, and highly functional home for the firefighters who serve this neighborhood.