Good fire station lighting lights three things from the outside: the station name, the bay doors and the apron in front of them. It does this with shielded, wet-listed fixtures that turn on instantly and last for decades. For most stations and municipal buildings that means angled RLM shades over the lettering, domes or wall packs over each pier between the doors, and sealed vaportights wherever there is wash water, diesel exhaust or road salt.

Picture the station at 3 a.m. The tones drop, the bay doors roll up, and the engine noses out onto a concrete apron that is already lit. Above the doors the station name glows under a row of red shades, the same way it did when the building was dedicated. The town sees its station; the crew sees every pier and the edge of the apron.

We build those fixtures to order at our Twinsburg, Ohio headquarters: spun aluminum or steel shades, 38 standard powder coats (Red included), on the gooseneck, stem or wall mount the facade calls for. Most of the fixtures on this page carry a BAA or BABA part-number option for federally funded jobs.

Good fire station lighting lights three things from the outside: the station name, the bay doors and the apron in front of them. It does this with shielded, wet-listed fixtures that turn on instantly and last for decades. For most stations and municipal buildings that means angled RLM shades over the lettering, domes or wall packs over each pier between the doors, and sealed vaportights wherever there is wash water, diesel exhaust or road salt.

Picture the station at 3 a.m. The tones drop, the bay doors roll up, and the engine noses out onto a concrete apron that is already lit. Above the doors the station name glows under a row of red shades, the same way it did when the building was dedicated. The town sees its station; the crew sees every pier and the edge of the apron.

We build those fixtures to order at our Twinsburg, Ohio headquarters: spun aluminum or steel shades, 38 standard powder coats (Red included), on the gooseneck, stem or wall mount the facade calls for. Most of the fixtures on this page carry a BAA or BABA part-number option for federally funded jobs.

A civic building works hard every night and has to look like it belongs to the town for fifty years. Take it zone by zone.

### Station name and emblem
The lettering over the bays is the building's signature, so light it from above with angled shades. The Emblem Sign comes in six sizes from 8 to 22 inches. The Step Neck Angle comes in 8 to 14 inches. Both have an 85% reflectance white interior and a cULus wet-location listing. Overlap the pools of light across the letters, and check mounting height against the IES files before setting arm length. At Mount Sinai Fire Department on Long Island, a row of Emblem Signs lights red lettering on a gable. At East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Co. in Virginia, Step Neck Angles on goosenecks light the full name across five bays.

### Bay doors and piers
Fire station design guides ask for light on the columns between doors, so drivers can judge clearance, and on the apron for exterior servicing. A gooseneck dome over each pier covers both. The Step Neck Dome runs from 12 to 24 inches. At Station 31 in Bluffton, South Carolina, and at the Belen, New Mexico main station, PLS Metro fixtures hang over the doors.

### Apron and perimeter
For wide aprons and side walls, the AWQS wall pack is a low-glare, die-cast fixture with field-selectable wattage and 3000, 4000 or 5000K. It is DLC 5.1 listed; run it on a photocell.

### Inside the apparatus bay
LED turns on instantly, which is what station guides have always required in the apparatus room. Large domes on stems or cords, with wire guards, hold up where hose racks and ladders swing close.

### Public works garages, wash bays and salt barns
The VW/VWB vaportight is approved for moisture, rain, corrosive fumes and non-explosive vapors. It uses stainless fasteners and silicone gaskets. Outdoors near salt piles, choose the Galvanized Step Neck Dome.

### City halls and courthouses
The building's character leads. Colfax City Hall in Iowa hangs black AL pendants under the open trusses of a renovated brick storefront. Milton City Hall in Georgia uses TTF pendants over a timber-beamed lobby. Outside, a gooseneck dome marks the entry and flagpole plaza without glare.

A public fixture has to survive a bid, a submittal review and sometimes a federal audit before anyone sees it lit.

### Finishes that hold up and match the town
Stations take diesel exhaust, pressure washing and road salt. Powder-coated spun aluminum suits most facades; galvanized steel suits yards and salt storage. The 38 standard powder-coat finishes include Red, Dark Green, Navy Blue and Dark Bronze, so the shades can match the apparatus, the trim or the town's colors. Add a glass jelly jar and a wire guard on any fixture a ladder or a hose can reach.

### Buy American, BABA and TAA
These three rules come up on different kinds of jobs:
- Buy American Act (BAA): applies when a federal agency buys directly.
- Build America, Buy America (BABA): applies to infrastructure projects funded with federal financial assistance, such as many IIJA grants. Manufactured products must be made in the US, and more than 55% of the component cost must be domestic.
- Trade Agreements Act (TAA): governs purchases through GSA schedules.

The product pages for the Emblem Sign, Step Neck Angle, Step Neck Dome, Galvanized Step Neck Dome, PLS, VW/VWB and AL all say to add BAA or BABA to the end of the part number if the job requires it. The Standard Dome page states it is BAA/BABA compliant. For any other fixture, or for TAA, ask us about compliance documentation before bid day.

### Bids, specs and submittals
Put the full part number, including shade size, mount, finish, light source and any BAA/BABA suffix, in the lighting schedule, so every bidder prices the same fixture. We generate spec sheets from your exact configuration, with IES files for photometrics.

### Lead times
Everything is built to order, so lead time depends on configuration and quantity. Ask us for a current lead time before you commit to a dedication date.