Firefighters, Deputies Are Under One Roof

A few of the rooms at the Dulles South Public Safety Center remained bare last week, and some supplies were still sealed in yellow plastic crates.

But the new facility, which combines fire and law enforcement in one building in South Riding, has been open for business since Monday. In the gleaming garage, navy-clad firefighters hauled out equipment Thursday afternoon for a drill. Voices crackled over the loudspeaker.

A few rooms over, Capt. Don Park, the station commander, was coordinating what he hoped would be the finishing touches on his department's half of the 22,000-square-foot building on Loudoun County Parkway at Tall Cedars Parkway. Although the fire department is up and running, it will be a few more weeks before the sheriff's office substation is fully operational.

"As you can see, we still have some work to do," Park said. "But once it's completed, it will be a real asset to the community."

The $4.5 million complex, which houses about a dozen firefighters and eventually as many as 75 sheriff's deputies, is a first for Loudoun. Not only does the complex provide "one-stop shopping" for residents who need emergency services, it is the first fire station fully executed by the county, said Howard Dawley, deputy chief for planning and facilities for the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management.

The other 18 fire stations in the county were built primarily through the efforts of volunteer firefighters who collected donations and lobbied government officials to build the stations, Dawley said. Sometimes, he said, they took out loans.

The South Riding center was paid for primarily with bond money that was approved by voters in 1999 and built on developer-proffered land. It will serve the thousands of new residents who have crowded into the Dulles South area, one of the fastest-growing parts of the county, Dawley said.

"All we need to do is stand and do a 360 to see why this facility is needed," Dawley said, gesturing toward the rows and rows of townhouses visible from the center's front door -- property that not long ago was farmland and open space.

The fire department plans to build six fire stations over the next few years. The one planned for the Brambleton area will be the only one similar to the Dulles South complex, combining firefighters and sheriff's deputies in one building.

The center's opening was a relief to firefighters and deputies, who since December 2001 had been working out of several trailers and a large tent a few blocks away, said Jasen Dodson, a firefighter who helped coordinate the building's construction.

Firefighters now have, among other amenities, a large kitchen and common area in which to relax or watch television, dormlike areas to sleep in and a fitness room they share with deputies to keep themselves in shape.

"The trailers were pretty nice," Dodson said, "but these guys have it made over here."

Once completed, the sheriff's office portion will be a full-service station, with about 25 deputies and space for dozens more as the area grows. The building also has three processing cells, where inmates can be detained for a couple of hours before being transported to the Leesburg jail, Park said.

The building also has a small classroom-size space for community events. The hope, Dawley said, is that the public will feel welcome.

"We want the public to be here," he said. "It was their money that funded it. This is their building."