Metal-Roofed Fire Station Draws High Marks for Design and Performance
The Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department has been a significant part of life in Prince Frederick, Maryland, for more than 90 years. So, when it came time to replace the aging structure that housed the organization’s Company 2 and its equipment, community was at the heart of the designers’ plans – along with, of course, ensuring rapid access to equipment and up-to-date living quarters. In fact, the new firehouse includes a museum that includes, among other artifacts, an antique fire engine from the department’s earlier days. Topping the structure and its traditional lines is a classic standing-seam metal roof that promises to perform just as well as it looks.
The department was formed in 1926 and Company 2’s previous firehouse was built in the 1950s. Department members began working to replace that structure in 2004, and it took almost 15 years for the organization to get the funding together from various sources to complete the $11 million project. Designers with Annapolis, Maryland-based project architects Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects (affectionately known as “Bigwaha”) wanted to emphasize the department’s pride in its history, reflected in how they sited the building on its highly visible property.