OCEAN PINES, Md. - Expanding and renovating the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department south station. The Ocean Pines community has grown immensely over the past few years, and firefighters say it's time for its south station, built in the 70's, to grow alongside the population.
"There are a number of issues with the building. Primarily the building doesn't even come close to satisfying the requirements of National Fire Protection Association or ADA or current building codes," said President David Van Gasbeck.
Firefighters say when it rains the kitchen floods, the living quarters are too small, and there is mold.
"We have mold in certain portions of the building, we remediated the mold in the living quarters. However, there is still mold, we don't have a decontamination facility, we don't have a fume evacuation system so there are a lot of different reasons why we need to renovate," said Van Gasbeck.
Governor Larry Hogan recent announced $1.35 million dollars in funding for the project. Another $200,000 is coming through a bond initiative,
but the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Dept. says $5 million more is needed.
"Growth in this area ... is causing a significant increase in the amount of calls we go on and of course most of them are medically related calls, as a result of that we have had to increase our staff," said Van Gasbeck.
Firefighters say they want to stay at this location, rather than building elsewhere because its centrally located. A two story building, another bay, and work area will be added to the station, while the existing bays that hold the fire and EMS trucks will remain.
"In general, it will benefit and make everything much easier to do on a regular basis," said Jamie Englishman, a career member as a firefighter paramedic.
The department is still considering options to reach their funding goal. It's not clear yet when construction could start, but Ocean Pines first responders say they'll be ready and keep working to keep you safe.
The president says the renovations will help the fire department's recruitment and retention efforts. They are set to discuss the project at a town hall meeting mid-May.