VA Firefighters Leave Trailer for $7.7M Station

Within a two-day period, the microwave quit working, the awning fell off, and the front door jammed.

“It was like the trailer knew,” said Capt. Dennis Smith, commander of North Stafford’s Company 14 fire station.

Smith was referring to the metal, double-wide modular trailer that has served as the fire station’s temporary quarters for the last nine years.

The days of falling awnings and jammed doors are over, as Smith’s crew is moving out of the trailer and into a brand-new fire station located less than 100 yards away on the same parcel of land.

The new two-story, $7.7 million fire station is a modern, sparkling facility located at 53 Shelton Shop Rd. Construction of the 17,600-square-foot building began in 2017.

Company 14 was first established in 2008, and originally began operations out of an old house on the property.

In 2011, that home was razed and the station’s crew moved into the utility trailer, remaining there until the new station was built.

“We never closed,” said Assistant Fire and Rescue Chief Joe Grainger. “Even with this new building coming out of the ground, we've been responding to calls throughout the construction cycle.”

In 2019, the station responded to more than 2,400 calls.

Crews are answering calls from the new station as it's completed.

“Furniture and fixtures are coming in, we're installing building supply items, getting all the AV materials, the work centers and televisions, and connectivity with the county network,” said Grainger.

Station 14 comes with a spacious kitchen, a relaxation room filled with overstuffed, reclining easy chairs, a large training classroom, roomy bunk rooms, showers, an exercise room, oversized lockers, office space and even a brass fireman’s pole reaching down from the second floor. It’s the only station in the county with that iconic fixture.

The new building, which is designed to last 50 to 75 years, boasts an integrated fan system in the vehicle bay that’s part of a diesel exhaust capture system that removes toxic fumes from the building. The bay also features a “hot zone” design that allows firefighters quick access to laundry and shower facilities on the ground floor after they exit their vehicles. It helps keep carcinogens and other toxins out of the firefighters’ living quarters.

Also new to the fire station are four-fold garage doors that open to the sides. The large, red doors are quiet and open five times faster than traditional garage doors.

To allow the station’s emergency response vehicles immediate access onto busy Shelton Shop Road, lighted signage has been installed on both sides of the station’s driveway to alert motorists that emergency vehicles are entering the roadway.

“It's not a traffic light like a red-yellow-green, but a flashing fire station sign that will be at either end of the entrance that our guys can hit when they come out the door,” said Grainger.

Although the station is high-tech on the surface, even the simple things, like reliable water pressure, have firefighters thrilled about their move into the new station.

Smith said the old trailer’s water supply came from the original home’s one-inch water line that ran the long distance from Shelton Shop Road to the trailer at the rear of the lot.

“In the trailer, if you washed your hands and I washed my hands in a different room at the same time, neither one of us got water,” said Smith. “I'm extremely happy about being able to just take a shower.”

In addition to the building, Station 14 also has a three-story training tower that allows firefighters to break out a variety of firefighting and rescue gear.

“We'll be able to do a lot of training right here on site without having to leave and go use someone else's facilities,” said Smith.

For the time being, the station’s driveway and parking surfaces remain dirt and gravel, but additional grading, landscaping and asphalt for parking around the station is work that remains to be done. Weather permitting, Grainger expects the work to be completed by late spring.

The station is staffed around the clock by four firefighter paramedics or firefighter emergency medical technicians, with a captain or lieutenant at the station at all times overseeing the teams.

There are 12 fire stations in Stafford and three standalone rescue squads.

Fire Station 14 covers the State Route 610 corridor between Aquia Harbor and Rock Hill.

Grainger and Smith both say Station 14 has everything they need.

“All we are asking from the community is to be fire safe,” said Grainger. “Practice exit drills in their homes and check their smoke alarms.”

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©2020 The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)

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