This month, Germantown/Kingsview Fire Station 22 opened for operations. It is the first completely new fire and rescue station with expanded emergency service to be built in Montgomery County, Md., in more than 25 years.

The Germantown greater area previously had one fire rescue station, Fire Station 29, serving a population of approximately 86,000. Fire Station 29 serves a first due area of about 28 square miles, including Germantown, Boyds, Clarksburg and areas south and west. Rapid population growth and added development in the last decade necessitated the new station.

In February 2000, the Montgomery County Council approved amendments to the Fire, Rescue, and EMS Master Plan, including recommendations to build two new fire stations in Germantown. In February 2001, the recommended site for Fire Station 22 was approved.
In November 2005, an interim fire and rescue station was opened in an existing warehouse facility in an industrial area in Clarksburg to serve the growing area between Germantown and Hyattstown. This was a newly delivered service to this area, the first in decades for the ounty, but the new fire and rescue station in Clarksburg has yet to be built and is still in the planning stage.
Fire Station 22, has six apparatus bays, separate administrative and living spaces, private quarters, support spaces that encompass 16,150 square feet. The 1-story fire station is situated on a 3.9-acre lot. Total construction costs (including land purchase) amounted to $11 million.

The initial planned apparatus/staffing assignments and equipment complements will include one engine staffed with four persons including a paramedic and a basic life support ambulance unit staffed with two personnel, along with an EMS duty officer. The station may be supplemented by volunteer staffing. Other response units, including additional EMS units, may be added in the future as resource allocation is continually evaluated and needs arise.

Montgomery County broke ground on several new fire and rescue stations in November 2007. The stations will be completed in the next few years.