Ray Township’s Fire Station Combines Modern Functionality with Rural Character
Posted on August 19, 2026
Ray Township officials celebrated the grand opening of the Ray Township Fire Department’s new fire station with an Aug. 6 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Fire Department, established in 1975, serves its rural Macomb County community from the intersection of 29 Mile and Wolcott roads. A modern facility that could improve operations, support firefighter health and safety, accommodate future growth, and better serve the community was needed. Ray Township selected Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, Inc. (AEW) to design and engineer the new station on the department’s existing site.
Since late 2023, AEW has provided planning, engineering, architectural design, bidding assistance, and construction administration services for the new 13,100-square-foot facility. The estimated $4.58 million fire station includes a 5,300-square-foot apparatus bay capable of housing up to eight emergency vehicles, along with a 2,000-square-foot second floor featuring a 32-person training room and a new Emergency Operations Center. New parking areas and driveways were designed to improve the safe movement of emergency vehicles throughout the site.
Two key constraints shaped the project. Ray Township wanted to preserve and incorporate an existing maintenance barn, which housed the county’s IT radio room, while also maintaining uninterrupted operation of the communications tower it supports throughout construction. Limited site boundaries and existing utility infrastructure made the design effort even more challenging.
AEW’s design integrates the barn into the overall facility to preserve assets and reflect the community’s agricultural roots. Thanks to careful design, the communications tower and utility room also remained fully operational during construction.
AEW architect Nicole Armstrong, RA, NCARB, said this project’s approach differed from AEW’s past work on fire stations.
“Ray Township is one of the most rural communities we have designed for in recent years, so our approach needed to be different and reflect the character of the community,” Armstrong said.
“Centrally located in Ray Township and adjacent to Wolcott Mill Metropark, the station was designed with a more rustic aesthetic and material palette than many of our other fire stations.
“Our goal was to create a facility that feels connected to its surroundings while providing a strong sense of identity for the Township. Ultimately, we wanted to deliver a building that the firefighters, Township officials, and the entire community could be proud of for generations to come.”
Architecturally, the station combines a prominent front-facing gable and wood-framed elements with a durable masonry apparatus bay and support wing. The result balances local rural identity with the practical demands of modern emergency services.
In terms of operational efficiency, the four-door apparatus bay improves vehicle maneuverability and response readiness, while expanded storage and strategically located support spaces reduce travel distances for personnel. Dedicated turnout gear storage, equipment rooms, and decontamination facilities protect firefighters by clearly separating clean areas from contaminated ones.
AEW’s design also kept the firefighters’ well-being in mind. The station includes a fitness room, kitchen, men’s and women’s locker facilities, and dormitory space that can support future overnight staffing. Natural daylight, modern living spaces, and dedicated training areas also improve the work environment.
To keep the project sustainable, the project reused the existing barn structure, foundations, and slab. Energy savings came about through high-performance glazing, an efficient building envelope, and radiant floor heating in and around the apparatus bay.
Community use was considered throughout the design. An open lobby, public restrooms, training facilities, and a new Emergency Operations Center support department events, public gatherings, and emergency management activities.
According to Ray Township Fire Chief Mark Hoskin, the new facility will significantly improve how firefighters work, train, and respond to emergencies.
“The expanded size gives personnel room to train, do physical fitness, do reports, and meet with staff without interruption of any workflow,” Hoskin said. “The trucks are now positioned to respond in a more coordinated response as well. The overall room of the station will afford growth in the future and easier if expansion is ever needed.”
Hoskin also praised the station’s functionality for firefighters for a couple of reasons.
“That every individual has a workspace that doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s work would be one and the layout or workflow of the entire building another,” he said.
The new Ray Township Fire Station is designed to meet current operational demands while adapting to future needs. By preserving critical communications infrastructure and repurposing the existing barn, the Township gained a unique facility that will enhance emergency response capabilities for decades to come.