DC firehouse to close due to deteriorating building conditions. Engine 28, Truck 14 & Ambulance 28 to move to other firehouses.
A press release from the DC Fire & EMS Department announces the sudden move out of an almost century old firehouse in Upper Northwest Washington. The renovation of the quarters of Engine 28, Truck 14 and Ambulance 28 had been planned for some time. Chief Dennis Rubin and his staff had previously testified before the DC City Council that the department has been frustrated by unsucessful attempts to keep the fire and EMS equipment close to the neighborhood around Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street. Now, unspecified conditions at the firehouse, built in 1916, have forced this move even though the renovation is not imminent. Here is an excerpt from the release issued early this evening:
The Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department will be closing the facility housing Engine 28 and other units located at 3522 Connecticut Avenue NW within the next twenty-four hours until the renovation of the station is completed. Feedback from personnel assigned at the firehouse in addition to recent building inspections, have facilitated immediate action. The current plan is to relocate Engine 28 and Truck 14 to the fire station at 4930 Connecticut Avenue NW, about 1 mile away. In addition to ‘first responder’ coverage Emergency Medical Services in the area will be adjusted to include response from the firehouse at 1763 Lanier Place NW slightly over a mile’s distance as well as the firehouse located at 1617 U Street, NW about 2 miles away.
While plans for the renovation have been completed the project has not been put out for bid.
