消防署
しょうぼうしょ · shoubousho · JLPT N2 · noun
fire station
🚒 消防 = fire-fight + 署 = office: the fire-fighting office, i.e. the fire station
消 (shou) means extinguish and 防 (bou) means prevent, so 消防 is fire-fighting. 署 (sho) means government office, so 消防署 is the office that handles fire-fighting.
消 — water 氵 + 肖 (phonetic)
消 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the water radical 氵 indicates the meaning, while 肖 (xiào) supplies the sound. It originally described water dwindling or melting away, and from there extended to the modern senses of vanishing, dissolving, and dispelling.
防 — mound radical 阝(阜) + 方 fāng (phonetic)
防 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 阝 (from 阜) depicts a mound or earthen embankment, suggesting barriers and defense. The right element 方 supplies the sound. Together they evoke a dike or rampart that guards against floods or attacks, hence 'to guard, prevent, defend'.