The fire station in Herndon is one of the oldest in the county and it is showing its age. The men and women assigned to the station do not have lockers to store their gear. The sleeping quarters are on the second floor and the fireman's pole has long since been removed from the station. Most importantly, the fire trucks barely fit through the bay doors.
"The Herndon station is one of two receiving the highest priority as far as replacing the station," said Dan Schmidt, director of communication for the county's fire and rescue. "Our intention is to stay in the town of Herndon. We're working to find a place in town."
That place may be next door at H.K. Lee Tae Kwon Do, which is for sale.
"The fire service indicated to us they were interested in expanding their facility or relocating. Then the property next door came up for sale," said Henry Bibber, director of community development for Herndon. "If the property is designated as a heritage property, it can still be expanded. The HPRB would determine what can be done."
INTEREST IN THE STATUS of the fire station was piqued in May when during a Planning Commission work session on the Downtown Plan, it was mentioned the county was looking around for larger quarters. At the time, Dana Heiberg, a staff planner said, he had been in contact with the county about finding another, bigger location, possibly outside of town limits, for the station. Since then, the building that houses H.K. Lee Tae Kwon Do at 688 Spring St., which happens to be next door, has been placed on the market opening up the possibility of the fire service staying put.
"I'm going to sell," said Lee. "I'm moving a half mile away. I'm going to own that building too."
Lee is opening his new academy at 465 Herndon Parkway next weekend. He said traffic and safety concerns for his young students, and not a lack of space, has prompted the move.
"The main thing is student safety. I don't have enough parking on site," Lee said. "They have to park on the other side of Elden Street and they have to cross Elden Street to come to school. I was concerned and so were some of the parents."
Lee said he will close the Spring Street location as soon as the new site opens on Saturday, June 12.
Lee closing his door opens it to the county fire department; however, no decisions have been made.
"We're exploring a lot of different options. They're may be a way to expand it. We don't know," said Schmidt. "It will be a while before anything happens."
Schmidt said the department is in the process of assessing all of its facilities, of which the Herndon station is a priority. Once the department settles on a course of action, it will need the approval of the county Board of Supervisors before moving ahead.
THE COUNTY will also need the approval of several town boards if it chooses to purchase Lee's building and expand the existing station. Any plans to change the existing building will need the approval of the town's Architectural Review Board (ARB)/Heritage Preservation Review Board (HPRB), since it is located in the Heritage Preservation District. In addition, the Planning Commission and the Town Council would also need to sign off on the plans. Moreover, there would have to be public hearings every step of the way.
Bibber said a number of things could be done, since as far as he knows, the building itself is not designated historic. The Planning Commission, however, has indicted that it feels the building has contributed to the history of the town and the facade should be preserved at the very least.
Bibber does not think it is possible to expand the station without purchasing some surrounding land and to date, no plans have been submitted to do so.
"There is no specific proposal as to how the building would be expanded," Bibber said. "It pretty much takes up the whole site."
IN THE MEANTIME, residents should not worry that their service is being hampered by inadequate size of the fire station.
"It's not lacking equipment. It's simply a quality of life issue for the staff," Schmidt said. "The infrastructure is old. It's cramped quarters. It's just an old building that needs work, major work."
The Planning Commission and ARB/HPRB will be holding a joint work session Tuesday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m., in the conference room of the Council Chambers, 765 Lynn St., to discuss the future of other buildings and future land use as it pertains to the Downtown Heritage District and the Downtown Plan the commission is creating.