By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Ocean Pines Association and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department continue to work toward a new South Fire Station, with an estimated construction start date of October 2025, given the timeline remains on track.

At the Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors meeting on Saturday, Feb. 22, OPVFD President Joe Enste, OPVFD Chief Joey Widgeon, and OPA General Manager John Viola updated the community on developments to the fire department’s new South Station. This project will see the construction of a new firehouse at the South Station property, located at 911 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines.

Per workgroup meetings, which included Widgeon, Enste, and OPA officials, the current site proposal accounts for a 15,370-square-foot facility. This is a decrease from the initial 19,100-square-foot plan but with an additional 760 square feet from a previous determination of 14,610 square feet to increase the facility’s functionality.

“When we started looking at the fit-out, there were certain additional spaces and realignments of hallways to try to make ease of access during an emergency in the evening so that our career staff could get in and out without having to go zig-zag through the firehouse,” Enste said. “We had to shift some of the interior walls, and with that, it kind of limited the space we had in other areas of the offices, the kitchens, and the living quarters, and so at that point, we realized we needed to extend the building by about 760 square feet.”

Fire officials delved into the project’s finances. According to Enste, the initiative has $1.7 million in grants and bonds exclusively reserved for the South Station. Of that, $1.3 million is already in a dedicated bank account. The department also has $750,000 through fundraising and additional savings that will be used for the new facility.

Enste said that as they continue to outline the project, they are working to ensure compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards.

“With this being a firehouse, there are certain NFPA standards that we as a fire department have to meet, from wind ratings to essentially being the last building standing if there ever is a catastrophic event, so that the fire department can continue to respond and provide help to the community,” the fire official noted.

Additionally, initiative leads have evaluated fit-out costs and transition costs to ensure the department is able to continue effective operations during the interim period while the new structure is being built.

“We also evaluated the transition costs of what is going to be to have to move out of the one firehouse and continue operations so that the community is still fully protected,” Enste said.

The workgroup has confirmed pricing for the fire suppression, vehicle extraction, and station alerting systems. According to Enste, the vehicle extraction system “essentially plugs into all the fire apparatus to make sure that every time that fire engine or that medic unit starts, it’s going to suck out all of the bad gases and process it and put it back out into the environment after it goes through filters.”

“Right now, with our current station, all those fumes and exhausts just go on everything that is in that engine bay, which is not great, especially in the business that we are in, so that is one thing that is going to be very important moving forward,” the fire president added.

OPVFD’s career team will relocate to the North Station during the construction of the new South facility. This move will help avoid any costs associated with utilizing temporary facilities, like trailers, which Widgeon said cost approximately $140,000.

“We determined that moving to the North Station made the most financial sense,” Widgeon said. “We couldn’t justify spending nearly $140,000 on temporary trailers when we have existing living quarters available.”

OPA Public Works will also provide the department with access to additional space to ensure fire service may continue.

Viola said that OPA and OPVFD are working on the new station’s plans with an architect. The general manager maintained that the parties will receive preliminary architectural drawings by Feb. 28, with final plans arriving in April. The association is also determining funding options and will seek board approval for a referendum vote.

The referendum will align with the 2025 OPA Board of Directors election this summer, allowing homeowners to vote on funding the enhanced facility. If all remains on track, construction work will kick off in October. The South Station is expected to be completed around early 2027.

“This has been a constructive and productive team effort, with careful consideration given to every dollar spent,” Viola said.

Questions and inquiries about the fire station project can be directed to info@oceanpines.org.