ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Department of Fire and Rescue Services Chief Louis Winston today dedicated the new Waterloo Fire Station, located at 7645 Port Capital Drive. This station will primarily serve the communities of Jessup, Elkridge, and East Columbia. It is the second newly established station to open in the last three years and brings the number of fire stations in the County to 14. Today’s dedication included a ceremonial “push in” of a new fire engine. Photos of the ceremony are here and of station can be found here.
The new Waterloo Fire Station is the result of historic investments during the last four years to maintain and grow our public safety infrastructure. Along with our stations in Elkridge and Savage, this station will reduce response times for our communities along the Route 1 Corridor and relieve strain on stations around the County. This project represents our bipartisan partnerships and collective efforts with Governor Hogan to deliver resources for our first responders and our community.
This project represents an agreement between County Executive Ball and the State. As a result of those negotiations, the State charged Howard Country just one dollar for the land, allowing the County to use $3.5 million in cost savings to fund flood mitigation projects in Ellicott City. As a result of this collaboration, County Executive Ball earlier this week announced the completion of the H7 Pond in Ellicott City – the largest water storage facility of its kind ever constructed in Howard County.
Construction of the new fire station began in the summer of 2020. The 14,865 square foot building is a full-service fire station, providing fire suppression and emergency medical services. The facility is a one-story structure and includes three pull-through, double-length apparatus bays, a physical fitness training room, a kitchen and dining room, sleeping quarters, general use rooms, and administrative offices.
This is a big step forward for our department. The opening of the Waterloo Station will address rising call volumes along the Route 1 corridor, ensuring that our department can continue to meet the community’s need for 911 services.
The station also includes a satellite office space and a breakroom for the Howard County Police Department. This dedicated space will give officers a location to complete reports, host meetings, and engage with community members.
“We are fortunate in Howard County to have a robust public safety program,” said Major Justin Baker, Deputy Chief of Field Operations. “Our partnership between the police and fire departments is unparalleled. We collaborate every day, whether on calls for service, arson investigations or in joint training, and now we are pleased to have a police satellite office in this new fire station.”
As part of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services’ award-winning Carcinogen Reduction Program, the station is designed with intuitive zones to reduce the transmission of carcinogens between working and living spaces. Additionally, the station’s state-of-the-art design incorporates extensive energy efficient and environmentally friendly strategies and will be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified facility.
"Today was an exciting day for Howard County citizens, the Department of Fire & Rescue Services, and the Howard County Professional Fire Fighters Association,” said Richard L. Ruehl, President, Howard County Professional Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 2000. “A fire station in the Waterloo area of the county has been on the DFRS radar screen for decades. After years of false starts, today was the culmination of many years of advocacy by our organization, county administrations, and county councils. Special thanks to County Executive Ball, the Howard County Council, Fire Chief Lou Winston, and every agency within the county who assisted, for ensuring construction of this new, much needed fire station. Our citizens and our fire fighters will be better served as a result.”
The station will be home to more than 20 career personnel across three shifts. The current apparatus for the station will include a fire engine, a paramedic ambulance, and a battalion chief. The station, including site work, cost an estimated $10.4 million to construct.