The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yorewhen the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Activities in a fire station include regular inspection and cleaning of the apparatus and equipment, and continuing education in the fire service. Weekly or bi-weekly routine typically includes various drills in which firefighters practice their skills. Some fire companies also host public activities at the fire station during annual “fire prevention week” or similar, and the facility may also be used for fund-raising by the “firemen’s association”, “fire buffs”, or “fire auxiliary”.

The approaches to a fire station are often posted with warning signs, and there may be a traffic signal to stop or warn traffic when apparatus are leaving or returning to the station.

In larger cities fire stations are often named for the primary fire companies and apparatus housed there, such as “Ladder 49″, or the district which they serve. Rural fire stations are usually named for the county, town or village, but may also be named for the independent fire district serving a collective geographic area.