In March, News4 first reported the new facility was finished but sitting empty because there was no way to power the nearby wastewater pumping station. News4’s Walter Morris reports.
A new Maryland firehouse that sat empty for months is finally up and running.
“Much improved, a lot more space, easier to get in and out,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said.
The firehouse on Frederick Road 355 in Clarksburg, Maryland, employs 40 people and has all the high-tech bells and whistles, creature comforts, and a lot of space.
“Quite an improvement from the warehouse area where they have been for decades,” Piringer said.
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In March, News4 first reported the new facility was finished but sitting empty because there was no way to power the nearby wastewater pumping station.
“They went through some extraordinary effort to bring in some smaller sewage pumps that will adequately manage the flow from the fire station alone,” Montgomery County Department of General Services Director David Dise said.
With coordination between several county departments, Potomac Edison and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, they figured out a method to get permanent power to that station, although that work is not completed yet. Until it's done, onsite gas-powered generators will do the job.
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“The fire department does an exceptional job normally, and this will just simply aide them in doing an even better job,” Dise said
“We are pleased that the collaborative discussions with Montgomery County allowed for the opening of the fire station, and we look forward to a permanent and equitable solution that allows for electric power at the wastewater pumping station,” WSSC said in a statement.
The official ribbon cutting is set for Oct. 24.
CORRECTION (Oct. 11, 2024): An earlier version of this story stated that the fire station had been lacking water. In fact, it did have water, and the issue was a lack of power to the wastewater pumping station.
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