New $10 Million Savage Fire Station a Significant Upgrade

Fire officials and County Executive Ken Ulman took a tour Friday morning of the new $10.2 million Savage Fire Station, which replaced the aging Lincoln Street station earlier this month.

The new station is built for growth, said county officials. The 33,000 square-foot, environmentally-friendly building is the new workplace for 21 career firefighters and 80 active volunteer members.

The station is a significant upgrade from the previous station, which was built in 1957. The old one was situated in a neighborhood. The surrounding streets have speed bumps. And after years of renovations and additions, the county decided it was time to build a new station.

The new station, which opened June 1, features a wide-variety of amenities as well as ways to help the firefighters improve response times. For example, it's located right on Route 1, with easy access to Route 32 and Route 29. The garage bays open in seven seconds, there's an in-house training room, a fitness room, individual sleeping quarters and even a fireman's pole from the second floor into the garage.

"As a driver, it's nice to be out of the neighborhood," said firefighter Scott Hendricks. "There were a lot of kids around... and speed bumps."

"There's definitely enough room to accommodate the career and volunteer crew," said Deputy Chief John Butler.

County Executive Ken Ulman noted the green roof, which was filled with stones and had plants growing on it. He also pointed to the solar panels installed, which fire officials said reduced the electricity bill of the building by 33 percent.

"I think the fire station is a really important investment by the people of Howard County so we can make sure we keep people safe in a 21st Century station," said Ulman. "It can reduce response times, handle more equipment functionally and it was a long time in the making. I'm glad we can get this place open."

The six-bay garage has enough room to fit the station's ladder truck, three fire engines, a brush truck, two ambulances and a Jeep, as well as all the firefighters' equipment.

The station is also home to a group of volunteer firefighters who face the same dramatic scenes that many of the professionals face, but without pay. As a result, the building has downtime amenities like a movie room with red leather chairs and a game room with a poker table and pool table.

"We're here for 24 hours, it's good to relax, watch a little TV, play a little pool," said Michael Hitt, president of the Savage Volunteer Fire Co. "It's good to unwind, because you never know when that next call is going to be."

Ulman agreed, saying "I think it's clearly a functional place for folks to spend their downtime, between calls, and that's an important part. These men and women live here."

Hitt said firefighters respond to between 20 to 24 calls per day on average.

The fire station, which also has a large community room, doubles as an emergency shelter as well. Fire officials said the community room can be used by local residents by calling the station and setting up a date and time.

As for the old station, it was purchased by a church that operates across the street and will be used for their purposes, according Jackie Cutler, a fire department spokesperson.

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