<bt>Vienna Volunteer Fire Department personnel were moved into trailers behind the station when major reconstruction on the building began in February 2005. About one year and $3 million later, the last trailer has been removed from the parking lot, and the station's square footage has been increased by about 60 percent.
Not only was it expanded, but the entire building was gutted and rebuilt from the inside out. Added facilities include but are not limited to storage and office space, a decontamination room, a porch with a grill and picnic table, and expanded sleeping quarters.
Several facilities that had been forced to share rooms have now been given their own space. The board room is now separate from the administrative office; the gym is no longer crammed inside the locker room; and the TV room and the training room are now separate.
Many of the facilities, including the two kitchens, have been updated. The Bingo hall has been refurbished, with a new a new floor laid down and the HVAC duct removed from the ceiling and run through the walls, and the adjacent ladies' room has been doubled in size.
About half of the work was paid for by a $1.5 million grant from the county through a 2004 bond referendum for public safety, and the station also took out a $1.5 million mortgage. Firefighters raised about $200,000 through a capital campaign.
<1b>— Mike DiCicco