Empty Va. Fire Station Finally Gets a Firefighting Crew

When Alexandria Fire Station 210 opened in April, residents were upset that the $15 million station did not have any firefighters protecting a growing area of the city.

That changed Saturday when an engine company was placed in service at the station. Four firefighters will be working there, along with an EMS supervisor. The department's foam unit will be relocated to the station as well.

“We’ll have a mix of veteran and new staff,” Fire Chief Robert Dubé told the Washington Post. “We were able to hire people who are EMTs or medics and they’ve gone through firefighter training.”

Over 300 people signed an online petition to get the funding needed to staff the 45,000-square-foot station.

The original plan was to move a crew from the Old Town neighborhood to the new station, but residents protested and the city council halted that move.

The department hired several cross-trained firefighter/EMS trained members to staff the station.