Stafford County dedicates new 17,500 square-foot firehouse

Stafford Fire Chief Joseph Cardello slid down the fire pole at the county’s newest fire station.

“The things we do for our kids,” said Cardello before sliding down into the apparatus bay.

Cardello’s young daughter urged him to demonstrate the pole in front of county public officials, staff, and decorated members of the fire and rescue department who came to participate in a long-awaited dedication of the station, located near the intersection of Shelton Shop Road near Garrisonville roads in North Stafford.

About 50 people gathered in the bay on Tuesday, July 9, to dedicate Fire Station 14, which fulfills the growing need for fire suppression and emergency medical services in the northern section of the county. The dedication comes following three major fire incidents in North Stafford in the past week, to include a fire that engulfed a home on Dorothy Lane on the afternoon of July 4.

“I want to thank the other Supervisors who kept this project alive when I was down doing other things in Richmond,” said Garrisonville District Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer, who was a county supervisor at the time the county identified the need for the station in his district, and later served two terms as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates before returning to the Board of Supervisors in 2017.

The 17,500 square-foot firehouse is currently home to three career firefighters, but more are expected to fill up the station’s multiple bunk rooms in the coming years. There are plans to add a battalion chief and an EMS unit to the station.

“This station was built with the future in mind,” added Cardello.

It was also built with safety in mind, as multiple exhaust fans installed in the apparatus bay work to pump exhaust from fire trucks, as well as deadly carcinogens encountered when crews fight fires.

There’s also a locking vestibule at the front entrance of the station where domestic violence victims can take shelter. If the victim alerts 911 that they’re inside the vestibule, dispatchers have the ability to lock the doors remotely, said Acting Station Capt. Sean Seawell, who led officials on a tour of the station.

The station also has a conference room that can be reserved and used by community groups.

The new station replaces an old modular building that was used to house fire crews here since 2012. Last year, crews from the old modular building responded to about 2,700 calls for service. That’s 15% of all fire and rescue calls placed in the county in 2019, said Cardello.

Crews have been running calls from this new station since they took occupancy on Jan. 26, 2020. Fears sparked by the coronavirus pandemic delayed the dedication ceremony.

The station opened nine months behind schedule after major construction delays caused by heavy rain in 2018. The station is one of 13 other stations operated by the county’s fire and rescue department.