The 7945 is indeed the best in Lego history, holding it own against even the famous 6571. The design of the whole complex is excellent combining the central tower and 2 garages in a very nice way. 4 minifigs is quite ok since now there's a privately set rule of putting 5 minifigs at most.
The smaller car is pretty ok but could have been better. Yet it is well designed and functional: the booth can open and stores the equipment.
The truck is the best about this set. In my opinion this is the best Lego fire engine ever as it has very nice proportions, foldable lift with a white cradle that can extend up to 40 cm so, Lego City can get relaxed as all the roofs can be reached.
The truck is better than that of 7239, as the frontal part is mor eimpressive and it is longer, which makes it look more realistic.

The colour scheme of the whole set is nice as well, red+white is diluted with nice plants and yellow hoardings.

Along with the famous 7239 and some other sets they make the best of firefighting services. 7239 truck and this one fit very well together as they are a bit similar but keep their own features like the structure of the lift / telescopic ladder.

I relly don't understand why after just 2 years a very good set which the 7945 is, is substituted for something dull that is not so well worked out and has a truck with a ladder instead of a lift-type structure.

This is the second Fire Station set I have owned, the first being #6382 from 1981. Comparing these two sets, this one is better in all ways except one: Unlike 6382 which uses 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, etc. bricks for the walls, this set has a small number of huge bricks where only two or three will make up entire walls. While this might make the model easier to assemble for younger builders, it certainly limits the possibilities for creating other structures. Besides this I have no complaints about this set. The vehicles are far superior to the 1980s models and much more fun to build. The set looks great and there are lots of nice touches on the inside including a coffee maker and sliding glass doors.

Comparing the packaging is also interesting. The modern photography and editing of the pictures certainly makes this set look more exciting than the older set. However, if you manage to get one of these in the original US packaging, look carefully on the back of the box and you will see a couple of photo retouching errors where some of the vehicle wheels are superimposed on themselves!

I got this set for my birthday and I like it tons. The building itself is very well designed. The windows and walls are awesome. Inside the building there are 2 computers, 2 radar screens, a bed, coffee maker, and cups. The set also comes with a fire car and an engine, both are very well made and sleek, better than the ones back in the 1990s, because those didn't even have roofs. The set also comes with accessories like phones, shovel, broom, brush, fire extinguishers, axes, flowers and a tree. I've no problem fitting the engine into the garage. The engine is fully functional with a working boom. I like how the car has a trunk. I used the window roof for other uses, and I added another floor to the building. Where the 1st floor has a 1x5x6 red brick, I replaced it with a window. It was a little pricey, but definetely worth the buy. I give this set 10/10.

This is the first lego set I bought in 20 years and was my introduction to lego to my four year old daughter and the only reason I bought it was because she was going to visit the local fire station on a kindergarden trip so I wanted to give her an idea what to expect.

Building this brought back to my why I loved lego so much as kid and it really brought home to me how much the blocks have improved to make the sets more realistic without overly simplifying the construction.

Anyway, I digress. The vehicles are excellent, both have nice features to play with. The fire tender is particularly good with hose and massively extendable boom. Makes me want to build a house big enough for it!

I found the garage doors a bit fiddly to put together but their realistic operation makes up for that. I agree with other reviewers that the bigger garage should have been a block higher to better accomodate the fire tender but it should be easily amended by most builders.

This is a remarkable set compared to the old fire station. This is a must have for anyone who is making a starter city or even a regular city! It is complete w/opening garage doors, two vheicles, a bunk, an office, and a dispatch center.
Perfect, you might think, but not so.....
CONS:(only two)
-for the bay of the tower it needs to be higher up because it is a tight fit.
-no stairs.(but that must be what the ladder is for. (ha ha ha) :)

overall the pros outweigh the cons and i have to give it a five