Update Thursday Feb. 9
North Stafford’s farmhouse fire station will soon see improvements.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to spend $150,000 on improvements to the station. That means a 1920s-era farmhouse will be razed and a new modular building will be placed on the site.
Fire crews complained the house was ridden with pests and that fire fighters were at risk of being bitten by varmints that frequent the old home.
Original post Tuesday, Feb. 7
North Stafford, Va. — Firefighters have outgrown a farmhouse turned fire station in North Stafford.
Known as Station 14, the farmhouse at 53 Shelton Shop Road near Va. 610 and North Stafford High School, was converted into a working fire station in 2008 due to a lack of fire protection in the area. The plan was to use the farmhouse for 12 to 18 months until a new structure could be built on the site, according to county documents.
Though a new fire station is not in the works, county officials say the time has come to improve conditions here.
A resolution before the Stafford County Board of Supervisors tonight calls for razing the farmhouse built in 1920, backfilling the basement, and erecting a modular facility on the property. Officials expect to spend $150,000 on the project, which will also include demolition, tree removal, driveway repairs, costs of utility hookups, and the cost to transport and erect the new modular facility.
When it comes time to build a permanent fire station in the area, the modular facility will be removed and can be used elsewhere in the county, documents state.
The other option before county officials is to repair the farmhouse at an estimated cost of $253,000 – that’s on top of the $92,000 that’s been spent to repair a roof collapse, leaky pipes, costs to address asbestos concerns, and to eradicate pests, documents state.
Stafford County has 14 fire stations in the county, with the Rockhill fire and rescue stations on Va. 610 being the closest stations to the converted farmhouse.
