New construction of a fire station in Harsdorf
It’s no secret that fire engines weigh quite a bit. A total mass of 16 tons per vehicle is quite common. It is therefore understandable that the areas in front of the fire station gates are exposed to particular loads. When these are newly constructed, planners often resort to heavy-duty concrete paving systems. These absorb traffic loads and distribute them to lower layers. One system that has been a triumphant success for paving heavy-duty surfaces for many years is the single-stone paving system. Tens of thousands of square meters have already been laid in Germany and other European countries – including numerous fire stations. The example of the new fire station in Harsdorf in Upper Franconia shows that this type of surface paving is still the first choice today.
Due to its location on the A70, the Harsdorf fire department has long played a role that goes far beyond the usual role of a fire station in a village of 1,000 people. “The section from Kulmbach to the Bayreuth/Kulmbach junction was completed in the early 1970s. The remit of our fire department has grown considerably since then,” explains Günther Hübner – Mayor of the municipality of Harsdorf near Bayreuth. As the old building had become too small and was getting on in years anyway, those responsible decided to build a new fire station on a greenfield site right next to the freeway. It comprises a vehicle hall with 2 vehicle bays, a social wing with changing rooms and sanitary facilities on the first floor, as well as a training room with a small kitchen, associated sanitary facilities and a management office on the upper floor.
Extreme load from fire engines
As part of this measure, the approximately 1,000 square meters of outdoor facilities around the new fire station also had to be completely resurfaced. While 14 car parking spaces were gravelled in the peripheral area, the planners used a paving system that has been tried and tested for years for the rest of the area. Dipl.-Ing. Berthold Just from the architecture firm of the same name in Bindlach explains why: “The areas in front of the two hall gates in particular are subject to extreme loads from the heavy fire engines. During maneuvering, shear and shearing forces are generated that act on the surfaces with great force. Only surfaces with perfectly formed joints can withstand such loads in the long term,” says Just.
D-point joint technology prevents crunching
The planners therefore opted for the tried-and-tested Einstein paving system from Angermüller in Crock. This always maintains the joint required to absorb traffic loads, as it features D-point joint technology, a special interlocking technology that ensures that even when the stones are laid stone-to-stone, there is only minimal, if any, contact at the lower edges of the stones. Unlike many other interlocking pavers with spacer or interlocking cam systems, the proportion of the surface where the stones touch remains very small. This avoids the often common crunching effect and ensures optimum force transmission between the stones.
Optimum joint spacing
Berthold Just explains: “For this reason, the system is able to absorb shear and horizontal forces and transfer them evenly to the base layers. This ensures that the surface remains permanently undamaged. Another advantage of the paving system we used was its cost-effectiveness, as the optimum joint spacing when laying the 30 x 20 cm paving stones is virtually automatic thanks to the D-point joint technology,” says Just. For ecological reasons, 3 of the 6 paved car parking spaces were paved with 20 x 20 x 10 cm grass paving. The good thing about it: because this system also comes from the Einstein paving family, both systems are compatible with each other.
Paving surface recedes visually into the background
However, the appearance of the exterior also played an important role. Günther Hübner explains: “With its white façade and red color elements, the new building should be recognizable as a fire station and stand out from the area. That’s why we deliberately set the paved area in a subtle gray – or the car parking spaces in anthracite – in the background,” says Hübner.
The new fire station was officially opened on June 1, 2024. Despite numerous operations to date and the use of the areas by cars, the area still shows no signs of damage.
