Alexandria Fire Station 210 Ribbon-Cutting Saturday

Area residents in West End Alexandria have started a petition signed by more than 300 with concerns that a new fire station in their area has opened without any firefighters.

Patch reported Tuesday on the petition and noted the concerns brought up in the petition. (See Multimillion-Dollar Alexandria Fire Station Opens Without Firefighters)

The City of Alexandria wants to be sure that Patch readers are fully informed and has clarified information about Station 210, located at 5200 Eisenhower Ave.:

1. The station entered service on April 1 and houses an active medic unit (ambulance and crew), EMS Supervisor, Field Training Officer, SCBA service center, the Fire Protection Systems Office, and outreach facilities.
2. A new engine is housed at Station 210. It is used for training and to fill in for engines at other stations during maintenance and other needs. The engine is ready and available to be staffed once funding permits.
3. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
4. Foam equipment is housed at Station 209, as part of the City’s HAZMAT unit. When the equipment is needed (either for the Ethanol Transloading Facility or for any other industrial fire in Alexandria or neighboring jurisdictions), it would be operated by Station 209’s crew, which is specially trained in HAZMAT response. If the foam equipment were housed at Station 210, the crew from Station 209 would have to go pick it up on the way to the response. In nearly every case, this would significantly increase response time.
5. City Council will consider options for staffing an engine at Station 210.