Special Ops Station 15 Designed To Consolidate Emergency Services

HICKORY, MD — Officials broke ground recently on a new emergency services special operations building in Hickory.

The new building will centralize all emergency response equipment, operations and offices, which are currently spread across three leased sites in Forest Hill, and consolidate them into the Department of Emergency Services property located on Ady Road in Hickory.

“In an emergency every second counts,” Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly said at the groundbreaking. “This new facility will bring critical equipment, specialized resources and emergency personnel together under one roof to strengthen our response capabilities, improve coordination and ensure our first responders have the support and tools necessary to serve our communities in those critical moments.”

When completed, Special Ops Station 15 will feature 16,200 square feet designed to house special operations apparatus and rescue equipment, dedicated storage areas for hazardous materials, a decontamination room and other amenities. The equipment bay will serve as a training area where special operations personnel can work with EMS crews and others on training opportunities, including preparing paramedics to enter hazardous areas and necessary patient care before patients are removed from the scene.

EMS clinicians and their medic unit, currently stationed at the Department of Emergency Services, will relocate to the new building.

The facility will include dedicated office space for special operations leadership, including accommodations for eight crew chiefs who are currently spread across the existing leased spaces, as well as a meeting room with capacity for up to 40 people and bunk rooms for EMS crews and special operations technicians.

Construction should wrap up within 10 to 12 months, officials said.