5. Šiauliai district fire and rescue station (2nd team)

About

In the centre of Šiauliai, the site of the old fire station is marked by a rarely seen yellow brick tower, from which all of Šiauliai was once monitored. Almost a century ago, after the First World War, the building emerged on a nameless alley in a ravaged city, and could only be accessed from Bažnyčios Street (Church St.). The new object gave the alley its new name, Gaisrininkų Street (Firemen’s St.). This street intertwines the past, the present and the possible future of Šiauliai and its firefighters.

A witness to the past, the two-storey brick fire station building with a turret was built in 1927 according to a design by the talented Lithuanian architect of Latvian origin, Karolis Reisonas, with funds raised by the city residents. The engineer-architect K. Reisonas, who had a boundless imagination, designed the building not only to be functional, but also aesthetically pleasing and in accordance with the prevailing style of historicism at the time: the façade of burnt-brick brickwork is decorated with pilasters and a profiled cornice; arches above the garage door openings are decorated, as well as the entrance door, and some of the windows.

In 1997, as the needs of the firefighters expanded and technology improved, a new building, designed by architects Antanas Plaipa and Andrius Vernis, was erected next to the old fire station. The new fire station with its characteristic attribute – the tower – reflects post-modernist features and harmoniously communicates with the historical accents of Šiauliai. The possibility of combining the old and the new fire station buildings seems to hint that this complex in the centre of Šiauliai may undergo a unique transformation in the future.