“It’s a huge improvement:” Ground broken on new fire station in Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, Md. – “Good things take time and this is an example of that. This is the right time for this building to be built,” OC Mayor Rick Meehan said.

Monday marked new beginnings for the Ocean City Fire Department. Ground was broken on the new Midtown Fire Station 3. “Today marks an important milestone for our city and the fire department as we continue to invest in fire protection and emergency medical services,” OCFD’s Ryan Whittington said.

The new facility would replace the current fire station on 74th street, which has served Ocean City for many decades.

Fire Chief Richard Bowers says the 2-story, over 23,000 square foot facility will allow them to expand their operations as their needs continue to evolve. “In terms of the numerous units now coming out of the station and for the additional personnel both career and volunteer in order to safely staff the apparatus. We’ve got to have the facility,” Bowers said.

“It’ll have things that are built into the station for storage that are not existent unfortunately right now at 74th street, so it is a huge improvement.”

The station will also have a Tier 2 decontamination area. This will help reduce first responders’ exposure to certain cancers and cancer-causing products. “That is a huge improvement to the safety and health of our men and women and of course the safety response to our residents as well as our visitors here in Ocean City,” Chief Bowers said.

“We are building for the needs of today and for the needs of tomorrow and that’s huge.”

The new station currently has an estimated cost of $9.8 million.

Construction is expected to be completed by summer of 2024.