Dumfries, Va. — One of the newest fire stations in Prince William County will be staffed by career firefighters at all times beginning this weekend.
Fire Station 23 at River Oaks, at U.S. 1 and River Ridge Boulevard near Dumfries, has been operated by the Dumfries-Triangle Volunteer Fire Department since opening on Sept. 11, 2010. While career firefighters employed full time by Prince William County have always staffed the station on weekdays, DTVFD has struggled to staff the station with enough volunteers on weeknights and weekends.
Now, Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department crews will work there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
An agreement between the county and the volunteer department states this new plan will free up other volunteers to better staff other stations within the Dumfries-Triangle department, including Station 3 on U.S. 1 in Triangle.
Volunteers will still pay for the operation of Station 23 and will regain staffing control once DTVFD can train and provide enough volunteers to properly staff the stations at 90 percent or better for four consecutive months, according to the agreement.
The plan was unanimously approved late last month at a meeting of the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Association – a group led by Prince William fire officials to include both career and volunteer firefighters.
In addition to Station 3, DTVFD also operates station 17 in Montclair and is separate from the Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad.
