May 10--A volunteer fire department and a developer are engaged in a land dispute in College Park, with the firefighters claiming squatters rights while also saying that planned construction across the road from their station will hinder them in the performance of their job.
WJLA is reporting that members of the Branchville Volunteer Fire Department used the company's apparatus on Monday to block construction vehicles and crews from working at a site across the road, saying that the planned fencing structure is too close and will prevent any apparatus from making the turn out of the fire station.
Firefighters with the company have also for years been using the lot across from the station to park several department vehicles.
"And they're going to stay there," John Gardiner, president of the Branchville Dept., told WJLA. "Until we're told to move them. The fire truck's not going to move, either."
The standoff, according to WJLA, was the result of a long-simmering dispute between the Branchville volunteers and the Boston-based developer, which has owned the 2.3-acre lot along University Blvd. since the 1980s.
But the firefighters claim that they've been using the land for so long now that they actually own it.
"You're talking about the squatters rights and we've been there," Gardiner said. "Nobody's ever told us to leave the property. Nobody's ever told us that we couldn't use the property."
The case is scheduled to be heard in court in October, and the firefighters say the construction of the fence should wait until at least that time.
A lawyer for the developer who was on the scene declined comment, but did say that there is a work permit in place and construction will be completed.
