Prince William County will open its newest fire station near Gainesville on Saturday, January 2.
Station 22 is located just off Balls Ford Road at 7500 Century Park Drive. The county issued a press release with details on the $17 million station.
Located on the west end of the county, the approximate 19,000 square foot facility was built by Pavone Construction, in cooperation with the Timmons Group, a structural design engineer firm, and [Prince Willima County’s] Facilities Construction Management.
The station will house approximately 45 career staff providing 24-hour coverage on an Engine, Rescue, Medic Unit (Advanced Life Support ambulance) and Collapse Unit. The building’s design, by LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects with assistance from fire and rescue’s design committee, encompasses sleeping quarters, a kitchen, dayroom, physical fitness room, training room, storage for technical rescue equipment, and offices.
In addition, the station has four drive through apparatus bays, a personal protective equipment storage area, and a decontamination “decon” corridor.
The new station will make it easier for fire and rescue crews to respond to emergencies in the growing industrial corridor, located just off Interstate 66. The new station will also take some of the burdens off crews who work nearby stations, fire officials said. Those stations include Station 4 in Gainesville and at Stonewall Jackson Station 11 near Manasweres — one of the county’s busiest in the county.
There won’t be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new station due to the coronavirus pandemic, fire officials said. One could be scheduled at a later date.
Station 22 is the second new fire station to open in Prince William County in the past year. A newly rebuilt Station 6 in the Coles District, of comparable size, opened on Route 234, near Colgan Senior High School.
It was replaced and was built next to an older fire station of the same name. That station was eventually demolished.
Manassas City expects to open its next fire Station 21 in March. The $16 million will be located on South Grant Avenue near the Prince William County Fairgrounds.
