The CERN fire station has just had a makeover. A brand new façade and a renovated interior have turned this 1970s building into a modern, functional and energy-efficient fire station, giving it an elegant black and red frontage and a new safety control room.
The fire station had barely been touched since the Fire and Rescue Service was created. The renovations began in autumn 2020, headed up by Vincent Ricodeau from the Site and Civil Engineering department, Ludovic Madrid-Moreno, a Fire and Rescue Service officer, and Henrik Nissen, who was responsible for the technical installation of the new safety control room, with the invaluable support of their management.
“Our aim was to make the building easily identifiable but sober,” explains Vincent Ricodeau. “Plus, we halved its energy consumption. It was important to us that the renovation reflect CERN’s values.”
In addition to the façade renovations, the safety control room has been overhauled. “The safety control room is the nerve centre of CERN's safety operations,” says Ludovic Madrid-Moreno. “It operates 24/7, handling some 30 000 calls per year and the same number of automatic alarms. The renovation work will allow the personnel to enjoy an ergonomic working environment. Particular care was taken to ensure that the systems are resilient and adaptable, to guarantee complete continuity of service.”