With the continual acceleration of urbanization, the amount of urban infrastructure and the quality of public services are increasing in many cities. A pressing concern in this context is the growing problem of incompatible fire protection construction, indicating a need for urban fire stations with well-planned layouts. However, research on optimizing the layout and placement of fire stations by considering the various factors affecting station layouts is lacking. The current study addressed this gap by establishing an optimal fire station layout by using a geographic information system (GIS) and elucidated the trends of GIS application in firefighting and rescue operations. The study’s findings reveal the benefits of avoiding blind spots, enhancing the selection of fire station sites, and optimizing service coverage. Furthermore, this study optimized the layout of CZ city’s downtown fire stations, which could enhance CZ city’s firefighting capabilities.