Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-10-28

terest to all up-County firemen
and the communities they pro.
tect, the Ayrlawn Citizens ASso.
citation of Bethesda this week
made public letter which they
have addressed to the County
Council proposing the develop.
ment of master plan for fire
} station locations.
The association made its rec.
concentrations in connection with
its suggec ion that plans to
locate a nv fire station in Be
thesda be postponed pending the
completion of a survey of fire
protection needs throughout the
county.
Text of the letter follows:
ut is the feeling of Ayrlawn
Citizens Association that rapid
growth in Montgomery County
is bringing such a wide distribu.
ton of fire risks that the loca.
ton and spacing of fire stations
should be judged on a county
wide basis, rather than on the
basis of separation within a local
fire tax area and the stunning
of locations near a fire tax area
boundary.
There are several spots within
the heavily built-up sections of
lower Montgomery County at
which new fire stations could be
ideally located under the spac.
ing standards recommended by
the National Board of Fire
Underwriters, but at which fire
stations will probably never be
constructed so long as existing
local fire boards must give first
Thought to efficient service for
: their own limited fire tax areas.
"In this situation it appears to
us desirable to plan the location
of fire stations for the entire
county on a sound engineering
basis and then modify, by one
means or another, boundaries of
existing fire tax areas to fit the
proposed pattern of station loca-
tons. Unless this is done, the
overall cost of fire service Serv-
ice for county residents will be
considerably greater than neces-
sary, due to an overlapping of
service areas which will result in
excess inventory of apparatus
and stations and excessively high
operating costs.
Because of the above con-
siderationS, it is respectfully rec,
commended that a master plan of
fire station locations be prepared,
that alternate plans for revision
of fire tax area boundaries be
developed, and that action on the
proposed Bethesda fire station
be deferred until such plans are
available for study. These recon-
mendations are spelled out in
detail as follows:
81. T'h a t the Montgomery
County Council direct the Upper
Montgomery County Planning
Commission to prepare, and in
vite the Maryland-National Capt.
tai Park and Planning Commits
sion to cooperate in preparing,
with the advice of the Montgom-
cry County Fire Board an d
Montgomery County Fire Mar
shall, before December 81, 1854, a
Master Plan of Fire Station Loca-
tions for the whole of Montgom.
cry County giving adequate
consideration to the location of
future freeways and other major
,thoroughfareS, the location of
future industrial, commercial and
apartment land uses, the location
of future dispersal office build
ings of the Federal Government
and the standards for spacing of
fire stations recommended by the
National Board of Fire Under.
writer's.
"2. That the Montgomery
County Council direct the Upper
Montgomery County Planning
? Commission, and invite the Mary.
land-National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, the Mont
gomery County Fire Board, the
Montgomery County Fire Mar
shall, and the several Fire Boards
OF the county, to prepare jointly
for public information and fol
consideration of the Council at its
May 1855 Legislative Session
three alternate plans for the
future organization and admins
tration of fire services in Mont
gomery County, to be based re
spectively on the following condi
tons:
"a. Continuation of the exist
ing system of fire boards, but
with revision of existing fire ta1
area boundaries where necessary
to produce appropriate relation
ships between such boundaries
and the fire station locations
= shown in the Master Plan of Fire
Station Locations recommended
above.