Edsall Road Fire Station reopens

The new Edsall Road Fire Station, in the Springfield area of Mason District, has opened after a three-year, $12 million project to build a new station at the same location. Just a small section of the old building remains.

During construction, the 11-member staff of Fire Station #26 were housed in a temporary building across the street on Carolina Place. The old station was heavily damaged in a fire in 2017.

The new Edsall Road station has a larger kitchen, a new fitness room, new offices, and new bunk rooms, says Lt. Allan Burchett, who gave us a tour of the building. The new station is 6,200 square feet bigger than the old one.

The apparatus bays were relocated and expanded. Before, there were three cramped bays; now there are four.

The Edsall Road station has five trucks, including a foam truck that is used for accidents on Interstate-395 and the beltway that involve hazardous materials.

A slogan on the trucks, “Guardians of the Slab,” refers to the station’s role in covering the mixing bowl on I-395 in Springfield, known as “the slab.”  

Firefighters work three 24-hour shifts in a row and are off the rest of the week. Many of Fairfax County’s firefighters come from the military and a few come from the sports world, including former Redskins cornerback Courtney Bridget at the Edsall Road station.

Members of the public are invited to visit the new Edsall Road station – and all 39 fire stations in the county – on Open House day, Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The theme for this year’s Open House is “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”