New fire department in the works in Dinwiddie

DINWIDDIE -- Construction of a new Ford Volunteer Fire Department station could begin in September.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized a $1.25 million contract with Harlan Construction Co. Inc. of Hopewell to build an 8,100-squarefoot station for the community that will allow expansion of the department's EMS services and will replace an old facility where 40 residents volunteer.

The county has appropriated $2.3 million in the Capital Improvement Fund for the project, which is expected to cost $1.5 million, including site purchase and other expenses outside the construction contract, said Dinwiddie County Fire and EMS Chief Dennis Hale.

Ford Volunteer Fire Chief Alvin Langley first requested the new station in October 2005 because the station at 13402 Cox Road is too small and inadequate. The volunteer fire department serves the least populated area of the county, but it covers the largest area, 147 square miles, Langley said.

"It has been a long process," he said. But the wait has paid off because four years ago, he said, the construction had been estimated to cost between $2.3 million and $2.8 million.

"Now we are getting it for a little over a million," Langley said.

The current station is only 3,100 square feet and does not have sleeping accommodations or a kitchen, and it has only one restroom for the 40 volunteers. A year ago, the department began operating its offices out of an old trailer, he said.

"We outgrew it many years ago," said Langley, who has been with the department for 18 years and has served as chief for the past decade.

At the new station, the department will have sleeping space for eight people, a kitchen and three bathrooms with showers. The new station also will have space to house an ambulance, allowing the department to expand its EMS services.

Currently, the volunteers offer a first-responder program but have to wait for an ambulance to arrive from the northern part of the county to transport people to medical facilities, Langley said.

"The only way we can get service faster to the community is by upgrading our facility," he said, adding that a more spacious station also should draw more volunteers.

Construction is expected to begin in September, and the station could be completed in six to eight months.

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .