Fire Stations 1946 – 2020

Newlands Firefighters enjoy excellent track record, reputation, and equipment. Though numbered among the emergency responders, Newlands Firefighters are called to intervene almost exclusively in cases of fire. This makes the organization of Newlandean Police – Ambulance (Red Cross) – Firedepartment system resemble the European type of emergency response, where each of these are summoned individually, rather than calling one common emergency number like in North America. Consequently, there are far less Newlandean Firefighters per capita than in Canada or the United States.

The direct phone number for summoning Newlands Firefighters is 193.

Like Police, Firedepartment is a paramilitary branch of MANATO, the Newlands armed forces. However, there exists an important difference between them. Newlands Police is empowered to maintain law and order only in the civilian part of the archipelago, while its counterpart, the Military Police, fulfills the same role in the Military Exclusion Zone (MEZ). Firefighters, on the other hand, perform their duties in the entire archipelago.

Firedepartment’s life revolves around its centers of activity, the fire stations. Occasionally, fire stations are architecturally important designs and unique buildings. However, most of Newlander fire stations are based on generic designs. Thus, the same building can be spotted in multiple settlements and settings, adjusted to the particularities of local terrain. These generic designs carry three separate designations. The first one is the designation of its location and function: municipal, rural, highway, and rescue. The second is designation large, medium, or small followed by a two-digit number grading fire station’s size, 10 being the smallest and 90 the largest (there are exceptions to this rule). The third is “type”, specifying the variant / model of design. Thus “municipal medium 50 type 3” means that it’s the third reiteration of that particular design (municipal medium 50).

Here are examples of some Newlandean fire stations:

Main Fire Station, Governalia – New Belgrade

This is the largest fire station on Newlands, judged outside of all scales, therefore designated as size “100”. It boasts more than five hundred rooms, helipad with 4 permanently stationed helicopters, independent off-grid electrical supply, and a garage on three levels supporting up to hundred operational Firedepartment vehicles. It serves double purpose: on one hand, it’s an active fire station responding to calls; on the other, it’s the headquarters of Newlands Firedepartment, housing its executive and administrative parts. The ground for this project was broken in 1957, the building was completed and put in function in 1961, and thoroughly modernized in 1997-1999. It’s situated in the Governalia quarter of New Belgrade.

Rescue Station, Spencer – Old City

This is an example of a modern, large fire station (size 70 type 1), completed in 2003 in Old City’s Spencer neighborhood. Besides its multilevel garage housing ten specialized firefighter rescue vehicles, it also boasts a vast administrative center. It’s home of Firedepartment’s Rescue Company 2.

Andweer Fire Station, Nova Britanija

Completed in 2009, Andweer is the perfect example of a small ultramodern fire station (size 20 type 2), perfectly fulfilling all needs of a smaller town like Nova Britanija (together with another older fire station of similar size). It maintains three operational firetrucks.

Large Municipal Fire Station 70 Type 3

There are seven generically designed large municipal 70 type 3 fire stations on Newlands (three in New Belgrade, two in Old City, one in Opsfort, and one in Luka). They boast a complement of eight vehicles (two in reserve) and a helipad on the flat roof above the garage with two Firedepartment helicopters permanently assigned to each. The first was built in 1965. Various upgrades will allow this type of building to continue satisfying Firedepartment’s needs into the foreseeable future.

Large Rural Fire Station 80 Type 7

After several unsuccessful designs in this category, rural 80 type 7 finally succeeded in combining the sought for versality needed in the mixed agriculture / urban areas of the small agrarian towns, with practical considerations governing these smaller Firedepartment detachments. With the first such fire station completed in 1992, so far five rural 80 type 7s have been built, all replacing previous less successful rural 80s of various types, and three more to be finished by 2022. Though this building’s square footage is rather large, it shelters only four Firedepartment vehicles.

Small Auxiliary Highway Fire Station 10 Type 2

The first of these small fire stations housing just one firetruck was finished in 1956 on Highway 1 halfway between New Belgrade and Old City. At their heyday there were fifteen built all over Newlands. In 2020 only three small highway 10 type 2s are still in service. Small highway fire stations allow for fast intervention in case of burning vehicles on the road itself.