It has been more than 20 years since Montgomery County opened any new fire stations. But during the next three years, the county plans to build four new facilities to better serve its booming population.
The four are in the western and eastern portions of Germantown, in Travilah and in Clarksburg, according to Montgomery County District Fire Chief Philip Guercio.
The locations, all of which are in the upper portion of the county, were selected due to the ever-present growth there.
“We know we need to increase our capacity so we can respond as fast as possible” to emergency calls, Guercio said this week.
The eastern Germantown station, complete with engine and aerial units and rescue squads, will be constructed along Route 355, while the western Germantown station — with fire and EMS units — will be situated on Route 118. Travilah’s new digs will be at the Public Safety Training Academy on Great Seneca Highway.
Site selection is still taking place to determine where exactly the permanent Clarksburg station will be placed.
Pressured by citizens in the burgeoning Clarksburg area, last fall officials added a temporary station to assist the thousands of new residents that are moving into those neighborhoods.
Lt. Dorcus Howard, with the fire and rescue service, said the temporary station was originally scheduled to go up in 2010; now that’s the approximate time frame for its permanent replacement. Time lines for the other stations are not yet available.
She said it’s important to distinguish between stations built to take the place of old structures and those that that are built due to a need to create additional service.
All four of these stations have been programmed into the Master Plan for the second reason, the lieutenant said.
