Chesterfield County Matoaca Fire Station #8
Petersburg, Virginia
Square Footage
14,700 SF
Building Type
Public Safety
Project Type
New Construction
Team
Architect-led
Services Provided
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Design, Construction Administration, Commissioning
Overview
Chesterfield County Matoaca Fire Station #8 was developed to replace an aging 60-year-old facility and enhance fire and emergency medical services in southern Chesterfield County. Strategically relocated along Hickory Road, the new station improves response times, expands ladder truck coverage, and supports the County’s growing service demands. The modern facility provides expanded apparatus space, updated living quarters, and operational improvements designed to support career firefighters and EMS personnel around the clock.
Challenges
- Replacing an outdated fire station while maintaining uninterrupted emergency services required careful planning and coordination to ensure operational continuity throughout the transition./li>
- Designing a modern station capable of accommodating larger apparatus, expanded staffing, and specialized emergency response equipment within a defined site footprint presented space planning and systems coordination challenges.
- Integrating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to support 24/7 operations, firefighter safety, and long-term durability—while allowing flexibility for future growth—required a highly coordinated design approach.
Goals
- Clear, contamination-controlled pathways between apparatus bays, gear-washing areas, and living quarters, ensuring each specialty team could operate safely and efficiently within the shared facility.
- Advanced mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to support the intensive training functions of the three-story tower while maintaining energy efficiency and compliance with NFPA, FEMA, and ISO standards.
- Through strategic system selections, detailed coordination, and cost-conscious design decisions, we delivered a high-performance facility that met the full programmatic needs while respecting the project’s established budget.
Project Team
- Owner: City of Suffolk
- Architect: RRMM
- Structural:
- Civil:
- Contractor: A.R. Chesson Construction Co., Inc.
Results
- The new station has significantly improved operational readiness, enabling firefighters and specialty teams to move seamlessly from living spaces to emergency response vehicles, reducing transition time during critical moments.
- Enhanced system reliability and improved facility layout have contributed to faster response times across the coverage area—an impact that Suffolk Fire leadership has publicly highlighted as a major benefit of the new station.
- The training tower and modernized building systems provide long-term value to the City of Suffolk, equipping personnel with the tools, technology, and infrastructure needed to perform safely, efficiently, and effectively for decades to come.
