The Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company is seeking Harford County approval to expand its Hanson Road substation as the number of annual fire and EMS calls increases, especially in the Edgewood and Joppatowne areas the substation serves.
Joppa-Magnolia officials plan to spend $700,000, provided by the county, to build a 5,000 square-foot, two-story addition at the rear of the existing firehouse, which is at the intersection of Hanson Road and Harford Square Drive in Edgewood.
"Our two busiest areas are the Edgewood area and Joppatowne," said Lew Brown, who represented the company during a hearing before the county's Development Advisory Committee in Bel Air Wednesday morning.
Brown serves on the fire company board as head of the building and grounds committee, and he is a former chief. He said the company handles an average of 4,000 fire and EMS calls each year for its entire service area, which includes mutual aid calls in Baltimore County and other parts of Harford County.
Joppa-Magnolia has handled about 2,000 calls so far this year, he said.
The 25-year-old Hanson Road station, a one-story, 7,128 square-foot building, is one of three operated by Joppa-Magnolia, Brown said. The land, which is zoned R3, is in a primarily residential section of Edgewood between Route 152 and Route 24.
The fire company leases the Hanson Road property from the Army, which operates the nearby Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Company officials signed a new 25-year lease earlier this year, Brown said.
The main firehouse, or House 1, is off Old Mountain Road South near the intersection of Route 152 and Route 7, and House 2 is along Trimble Road in Joppa. The Hanson Road substation is House 3, according to Brown.
The county funds were allocated for the project three years ago, and Brown estimated it will take about six months to get the proper county approvals – the site plan for the firehouse expansion was presented to DAC Wednesday.
Brown estimated another six months for construction, which could start next spring.
"That's not going to stop us from running [calls] out of House 3," he said of construction.
The county funds were allocated in the fiscal 2014 capital budget, under former County Executive David Craig. The money, which is "paygo" and not bond money, is available once Joppa-Magnolia officials proceed with construction, Cindy Mumby, spokesperson for the current administration of County Executive Barry Glassman, said Thursday.
Glassman, who was elected in 2014, has said he wants to curtail the number of county capital projects to ease Harford's debt service burden and focus on human capital, or county employees.
"It's the fire company's decision to move forward on the project," Mumby said.
The existing substation has a capacity of about 25 people for three fire crews, two ambulance crews, a utility truck crew and a brush truck crew to fight field and woods fires, Brown said.
The expansion would give the fire company more space at Hanson Road for the existing vehicles and more bunk space for fire and EMS personnel, paid and volunteer.
"We encourage sleep-in crews, and right now our bunk room is way too small," Brown said.
He noted the company plans a campaign to raise money to renovate the existing building once the addition is completed.
Committee members sought few changes to the site plan. Darryl Ivins, who represents the Division of Water and Sewer on the DAC, said a pump might have to be installed as part of the construction "to provide adequate water pressure to both buildings, especially the second floor."
The county will also perform a flow test to ensure the fire hydrant on the property has an adequate water flow, Ivins said.
Eric Vacek, of the Department of Planning and Zoning, noted three additional parking spaces will be built, and new lighting should be directed "down and away" from adjacent residential developments.