More News

Cheverly Town Council members say they are worried the town may lose its closest fire station, whose staff could relocate to a new station to be built in Springdale.

All staff and equipment at the Tuxedo-Cheverly Fire Station at 5711 Tuxedo Road could be moved to the planned St. Josephs Fire Station, an estimated $3 million to $4 million station expected to open in late summer or fall of 2011 on St. Josephs Drive in Springdale.

Mayor Julia Mosley is concerned the town would be left with "just a skeleton staff in a very good building" and that amid Prince George's County budget cuts, it would become easier to shut down the station. Town Administrator David Warrington said there have been three town electrical house fires in the past 6 months but he does not know which departments responded.

There are 16 staff members at Tuxedo-Cheverly, which also houses specialty apparatus to rescue people trapped in confined spaces or at high altitudes. The Town Council will discuss the future of the station at its 8 p.m. June 11 meeting.

"The facility is in very good shape," Mosley said. "It's ideally located at a major intersection of the [Baltimore-Washington] Parkway, Route 50…that's just a key interchange."

A call to the station Tuesday was redirected to County Battalion Chief Darren Ware, who declined to comment and referred to the county's Office of the Fire Chief.

Mark Brady, a Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department spokesman, said there is a low call volume at Tuxedo-Cheverly that can be handled by surrounding stations, Kentland Station 33 and Bladensburg. Both are less than two miles away from incorporated Cheverly. Brady said the new station has been in the works for the past three to four years.

"As our county continues to grow in population and density, we have to make adjustments to that and that's why this site was selected for a new station," Brady said.

Brady said so far this year, Tuxedo-Cheverly's ambulance responded to 1,829 calls and its fire engine responded to 806 calls. Kentland 33 responded to 5,476 ambulance calls and 3,614 engine calls. Bladensburg had 3,071 ambulance calls, and its engine responded to 2,344 calls.

However, Brady said the fire/EMS department is applying for a five-year federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant that would fund 23 positions at the St. Josephs station, preserving Tuxedo-Cheverly staff.

Brady said the grant would pay for personnel for about two years while the county is responsible for matching funding for the remainder. He did not know when the department would find out if they received the grant.

"By no means is this plan etched in stone," Brady said "There's so much that can happen between now and then that could affect this plan."