Ogden Arsenal, Fire & Ambulance Station, 6282 Hickory Avenue, Layton

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1AM-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building the Fire and Ambulance Station for both the East and West Fuze Loading Plants, provides particularly vivid images of the accommodations made for worker safety and welfare at Ogden Arsenal during World War II. Workers in these plants handled poisonous and highly explosive materials; injuries were common. This building, along with other structures at the base, renders a unique picture of the U.S. Army build-up which occurred on the eve of and during World War II. History: Building housed emergency intervention equipment like fire trucks and ambulances for the people and facilities of both the East and West Fuze Plants.

Since workers in these plants handled Tetryl, a poisonous and highly explosive material, injuries due to explosions or toxin exposure were common, even when the utmost precautions were taken. In order to respond immediately and minimize losses, an ambulance and fire truck were housed on site and staffed with emergency workers who were on call 24 hours a day. Ogden Arsenal, Fire & Ambulance Station HAER No. UT-84-AM Page 2 Building contained a fire engine stall, an ambulance stall, office, and living quarters for firemen and an ambulance driver. The workers shared a common kitchen and toilet facility, but their sleeping quarters were separate from each other.

The ambulance driver slept in a room that adjoined the ambulance stall, while the firemen slept in a room adjoining the fire engine stall. The living areas featured maple floors, while the utility area floors were surfaced with concrete. General Description: Building x is a one-story concrete hollow tile structure. The original floor plan is still largely intact, though spaces are now dedicated to offices, a reception area, restrooms, and storage. The interior walls are constructed of 6" concrete block. The walls are articulated by exposed concrete columns (reinforced with steel "W" flange members) which form four structural bays. Each bay has a single steel frame window with nine panes of glass.

Each of the gable end walls (north and south) have four windows with two small, rectangular metal roof vents, though each of the bays' two overhead doors have been removed. The windows sit on a plain slip sill with plain concrete lintels. The building has a concrete foundation and floor system and is entered at grade level. There are no stairs or porches; the east entrance is marked by a small metal canopy. The roof has the typical arsenal pitch and is supported by light steel-frame trusses that are surfaced with corrugated asbestos siding. The building also has four 12-inch diameter copper ventilators with dampers spaced approximately evenly along the roof ridge, with two lightning aerials located at each end of the ridge line. Ogden Arsenal, Fire & Ambulance Station 4(V .. HAER No.

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