Quincy Fire Department Spatial Needs Assessment

The engagement

What we did

The Center for Public Safety conducted a comprehensive spatial needs assessment for the Quincy Fire Department, evaluating Fire Stations 1 and 5, facilities that had served their community for more than 80 years. The engagement encompassed detailed operational workflow analysis, staffing deployment patterns, and apparatus configuration requirements, informing both facility programming and evaluation of management structure and span of control. CPS’s methodology used comprehensive questionnaires and intensive interviews with personnel across all ranks to understand operational and staffing dynamics, supported by direct facility examinations. The study specifically addressed how shift configuration affects facility requirements, analyzing the way different deployment models drive space needs for sleeping quarters, kitchen facilities, and fitness areas, and examining the relationship between facility capacity, crew size, and overtime cost. The analysis included detailed cost-benefit modeling demonstrating how strategic facility investment reduces long-term operational cost through improved workflow efficiency, reduced apparatus maintenance from proper storage, and lower injury rates from modern decontamination spaces. The study produced $22.4 million in facility recommendations alongside identified operational savings from reduced workers’ compensation claims, improved apparatus longevity, and strengthened recruitment and retention.