Camp Lockett Fire Station

The Camp Lockett Fire Station (T-502) is historic site CA-SDI-16713.

Mobilization Era- Ground was broken on June 23, 1941. A total of 132 buildings to accommodate 1,568 men and 1,668 horses were built. Wood frame buildings were set on either concrete footings or full concrete slab foundations. The gable roofs were covered with asphalt roofing material. Windows were evenly spaced, wood-framed, 6-over-6 light, double hung. Walls were constructed of diagonally laid .75" x 11.5" planks covered with asbestos shingle siding.

CA-SDI-16713 (Lockett 13) Fire Station is a Mobilization Era building, Type F-2 which measures 44'2" x 972" and has a three vehicle capacity. The Fire Station currently consists of one "T" shaped cross-gabled building with the cross bar of the "T" (on the south) constituting the current Campo Volunteer Fire Department (County Service Area 86). The base of the "T" (on the North) used for many years as a County employee residence, has now been returned to the the volunteer fire department for use as firefighter living areas. On the southern structure, gray asbestos shingle-siding covers diagonally laid .75 x 11.5 plank wallboards. Walls are supported by a poured concrete slab foundation. Interior support beams on single concrete piers provide additional support for the roof. Two vertical wood-sided shed-roof extensions have been recently added. The addition to the west elevation houses an office and crew sleeping quarters and one to the south provides an extension of the structure to accommodate modern fire trucks that are longer. The building has regularly spaced 6-over-6, light wood-frame double-hung windows on the east exterior elevation. The gable roof has a slope of 5 to 12 and has been recently been recovered. Interior of current Fire Station (south cross bar portion of structure) contains; kitchen (at the northeast corner) with original 5' x 5' exhaust hood and raised platform where a large gas stove must have originally stood, and some original cabinetry. The bathroom with the original shower and sink is located in an intermediate area between the residence and Fire Station sections of the building. It is possible that this intermediate area was added early in the building's existence to connect the northern and southern portions. The northern residence portion of the building is also asbestos, shingle-sided with double- hung windows. An enclosed porch is located at the north end of the structure with open porches on the west, north and east.

Lockett 13 Fire Station is a one-of-a-kind building and the sole example of this type of structure in the 1941 1946 Camp Lockett Military Reservation. The entire building possesses the majority of the WWII construction and fabric with the exception of the shed roof additions. The historic photograph for this structure (obtained from the Mountain Empire Historical Society) also illustrates the essentially unaltered appearance. Importantly, the building is currently used in conformance with its original function as a fire station. The building appears to possess sufficient integrity to qualify as a contributor to the Camp Lockett Historic District. (Rating=5/ contributing structure)

Category: ADMINISTRATION

Type 1 a: Fire Stations, General History

Description:

The fire station housed fire fighting equipment to protect military installations from the threat of fire. Building size varied depending on the size of the installation and type of fire fighting technology. Examples of fire stations include one- and two-story buildings. A characteristic architectural feature of all fire stations is the large door openings that accommodated the fire fighting apparatus, first wagons and later trucks. Fire stations constructed before 1917 contained hose towers that projected above the roof and were used to dry the cotton fire hoses. During the 1930s, hose drying areas were incorporated into the interior of the building, which eliminated the exterior towers. When electric dryers were installed, the need for the hose tower was eliminated entirely.

Evolution:

Fire stations evolved as a separate property type during the late nineteenth century and reflected the development fire fighting technology. At temporary cantonments, soldiers used buckets of water or sand to fight fires. By 1876, the Quartermaster Department provided fire extinguishers as part of general provisions.¹The consolidation of troops into larger, more substantial installations during the 1880s and 1890s required the Quartermaster Department to plan for fire emergencies. With more buildings to protect, the Quartermaster Department acquired fire fighting equipment and designed buildings to house it. The earliest Quartermaster- standardized plans for a separate firehouse date from 1894.² These fire stations were small buildings with a hose tower and two major door openings. Larger installations often had two or more of these small firehouses to provide adequate protection in an era of fire fighting equipment drawn by horse or human power. A one-story firehouse contained only the fire fighting apparatus, while two-story buildings also contained personnel quarters for personnel on the upper floor.³ The two-story firehouse was constructed from the late nineteenth century through the 1930s. 

In 1916, the Quartermaster Department issued a standardized plan that combined the functions of fire station and guardhouse.' This combination became the prevalent design during the late 1920s and the 1930s. During the 1930s, the Army introduced motorized fire fighting equipment and consolidated fire stations at central locations on installations. Often the fire station commanded a prominent location at the junction of major streets. During the widespread rebuilding of Army posts and airfields during the 1930s, the fire station became a major element of the overall installation plan and reflected the installation's architectural character.

Association:

Fire stations are associated with the development and modernization of permanent military installations, starting in the late nineteenth century. Fire stations located on installations established before the Civil War probably were added during the late nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, fire stations became a standard feature of military installations. Often fire station design reflects the military's adaptation of contemporary architectural styles to installation construction.

Fire stations are support facilities for an installation, and are not related directly to the installation mission. Fire stations generally are not associated with significant historical events and usually do not possess individual historical significance, but can be a contributing building to an historic district. If the building has a prominent location in the overall plan of the installation, it can be a major architectural element that contributes to the architectural character of the installation.

Integrity:

To possess the integrity necessary to convey its significance, a fire station should retain most of its original design, materials, workmanship, and setting from its period of construction. Character-defining features of fire stations include hose towers in pre-1917 buildings, wide door openings, original doors, and the overall pattern of openings. In addition, fire stations built as part of installation master plans, as was common during the 1930s, possess design features common to the architectural character of the installation that are important elements to the building's integrity. Typical alterations to this building type include infilling original doorways and replacement of original doors. In cases of subsequent additions or renovations, the building may have integrity if it has retained the majority of its character-defining features, particularly its setting in an overall plan, basic form, materials, and pattern of openings.

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¹    David A. Clary, These Relics of Barbarism: A History of Furniture in Barracks and Guardhouses of the United States Army, 1800-1880, MSS, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center, West Virginia, 1983, 165-166.

²    National Archives and Records Administration, Cartographic Branch, Record Group 77, Standard Plans of Army Post Buildings, 1891 - 1918, P.I. NM-19, Entry 411, Plan 98.

³    NARA, Cartographic Branch, RG 77, Standard Plans of Army Post Buildings, 1891 - 1918, Plan 232.

⁴    NARA, Cartographic Branch, RG 77, Standard Plans of Army Post Buildings, 1891 - 1918, Plan 421.

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