[Scan-DC] Flagship fire station to open in December

[Alan Henney]

http://www.potomacnews.com/frontpage/MGBH5NHZK8D.html

Nov 15, 2002

Flagship fire station to open in December
BY DIANE FREDA
dfreda@potomacnews.com


Dale City's newest fire station will have the latest in accommodations for
firefighters and the most advanced in safety standards. At a cost of $4.4
million, it will also be the county's largest and most expensive fire
station.

Located on Prince William Parkway close to the intersection of Smoketown
Road, its impressive features have firefighters anxious for a peek -- and
wanting to move in.

"Everybody's excited. I can't keep people out of here," said George
Buchanan, vice president of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department.

The doors will open Dec. 14.

Dale City Volunteer Fire Company 20 was built to relieve the firefighting
and medic response burden on four other stations: Dale City Volunteer Fire
Department, Co. 13, at Hillendale Avenue; Dale City Volunteer Fire Co. 10 at
Birchdale Avenue; Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Co. 12 on Montgomery Avenue;
and Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Co. 14 at Hedges Run Road in Lake Ridge.

The county's desired four-minute response times are being stretched because
of the rapidly growing and dense populations in those areas, fire officials
said.

"When you go above 3,000 calls a year, a station's availability to be first
call is affected," said Battalion Chief Steve Strawderman, who did a lengthy
study of locations for new fire stations in 1991.

Each station has a designated first-call area. Station 20's is the Potomac
Mills area and Minnieville Road almost to Telegraph Road, as well as Dale
Boulevard to Interstate 95. It will assist in the eastern part of Lake Ridge
and the northern part of Dale City.

Some have questioned the fire station's location, near one of the busiest
intersections in Woodbridge. But concerns raised several years ago were not
enough to stop a plan that was already in motion.

Donated land -- now valued at more than a $1 million, according to some
estimates -- made it a hard option to refuse. A little more than an acre in
front of the station was proffered about three years ago by the developer of
Prince William Commons, who went belly up and sold to Wells Fargo Bank.

The back 8.5 acres was donated by Gar-Field High School.

Originally the developer planned to locate the station in Prince William
Commons across the street. But volunteer firefighters balked, saying there
wasn't enough space to meet the county's growing needs. The plan to proffer
land -- offer land in exchange for zoning approval -- on the other side of
the parkway solved the problem for the time being.

Station 20 will be staffed by five volunteer crews each week and career
firefighters by day, Buchanan said.

Taxpayers' dollars will pay for it in a 20-year mortgage derived from the
$7.28 countywide fire levy, which is based on each $100 of assessed real
estate value.

Despite its 25,000-square-foot size, cost saving measures were a prime
consideration. The kitchen consists mainly of stainless steel instead of
laminate used in old fire stations, which cracked and peeled. Heat is
provided by infrared rays that diffuse warmth from panels in the ceiling,
which is more energy efficient. Its biggest coup is an exhaust removal
system running along tracks in the three bays, from which pipes suck off
noxious fumes. The old system of hoses hanging from the ceiling -- an
Occupational Health and Safety Administration requirement -- cost $70,000;
the new system costs $45,000.

Working in such close quarters, sometimes on 12-hour shifts, warrants more
private space and a gym for keeping firefighters in shape, Buchanan said.
The station's battalion chief will have his own office and quarters and the
other bunks have been designed in quadrants so the men can be separated from
the women. All of the upstairs, apart from the gym, will be for
administrative offices. In another first, the first full-time mechanic will
be located at the station to repair all Dale City trucks.

The opposition to the parkway location was led by Occoquan Supervisor Ruth
T. Griggs, who wanted a fire station closer to the northern end of the
county. Her proposal was for a station on Minnieville Road, closer to the
Westminster at Lake Ridge retirement community off Clipper Drive.

"Parts of Lake Ridge were outside of the required response times and will
remain outside with this new station," she said Friday. Griggs' plan was for
the volunteers to sell the parkway property that was donated, prime county
real estate, make a profit and buy land elsewhere. That way the county might
be able to build just one new fire station instead of the two that it will
probably need in the future.

Supervisor John D. Jenkins, D-Neabsco, has a different position. He said the
current location "is the best location to serve the most people."

Safety should be the least of anyone's concerns, Buchanan said.

A new traffic light has been installed in front of Station 20 that will stop
traffic in all directions, allowing trucks to get out if there is a fire.
"There is no safety problem," he said. "They were looking for reasons not to
have this station built here. Safety is our first concern."


Staff writer Diane Freda can be reached at (703) 878-4723.



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