Brandywine fire department still negotiating new building
Station's construction will depend on county budget, fire chief says
After Prince George's County fire officials offered a compromise in June to Brandywine Volunteer Fire Department firefighters who had opposed construction of a new station nearby, a solution had seemed to be within reach.
Since the spring, the county and local fire department have been at odds over building a new station for the Brandywine firefighters along Brandywine Road, near Gwynn Park High School.
But during a meeting Saturday with residents, firefighters and state and local officials to discuss the negotiations, fire station president Jeff Beavers said the station has rejected the proposed agreement, which sought to use the event hall at the current station after the new station is completed in 2012.
The contract proposed in June also would require the county to pay the current station's utility bills for the next five years, and an additional five years in a verbal contract, Beavers said. However, the contract also allowed for either party to cancel the contract with 30 days' notice, a condition Beavers said he opposed.
County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones notified Beavers in March that the county had purchased a two-acre piece of land for $440,000 for the new fire station a mile and a half away, at 13809 Brandywine Road. The existing station is at 14201 Brandywine Road.
While no decisions have been made to relocate the fire station, Jones said Saturday that a new fire station will be built to support the growing area near U.S. 301, Crain Highway.
"We need a fire station there whether they move this one or not," said Jones, of Beltsville.
Jones said he is hoping the county fire department's budget will be able to cover both construction of a new station and the upkeep of the current station, but he is unsure whether it will be possible.
"All decisions are based on funding," Jones said, adding that he is awaiting a final budget from the Prince George's County Council, which is in recess until September.
While County Councilman Tom Dernoga (D–Dist. 1) of Laurel said he is unfamiliar with the specifics of south county, he found the plan for a new station baffling.
"I couldn't figure out how this made any sense," Dernoga said. "The county has no money."
A $13.1 million county deficit is one of the reasons firefighters and residents said they are rallying for refurbishing the current station, instead of building a new station estimated to cost $3 million to $4 million.
A Leonardtown contractor, W.M. Davis Inc., estimated that rehabilitating the existing station would cost $1.7 million, including the addition of a second floor, an emergency generator, new heating and air conditioning units, an additional bay and remodeling of the first floor.
"Why are we going to spend money when we could renovate this station?" Beavers said.
Vince Harrison, vice-chairman of the county's Fire Commission, agreed that the money should be divvied up to renovate Brandywine and additional stations in the county.
"We are wasting money that we don't have," Harrison said.
While firefighters oppose the move for technical reasons, many lifelong residents waxed nostalgic for the fire station they grew up with, which held Christmas parties and bazaars.
Diane Daniels, the secretary and co-historian of the Brandywine Volunteer Fire Department is a second-generation firefighter. Her father was one of the original 16 members of the fire house when it was dedicated in 1956. Her sister, husband, son and nephew are also involved at the stations as both volunteer and career firefighters.
"It's extremely important to a community when you have people and places that have roots," Daniels said. "We add roots to the community. People become a part of each other…one big family," she said.
E-mail Megan McKeever at mmckeever@gazette.net.
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