Sykesville Fire Company Begins To Rebuild Following Roof Collapse
By Ryan Marshall, Carroll County Times staff writer
February 18, 2010
Sykesville's fire company hopes to be in a rebuilt home within about a year, after a fire devastated parts of its station during last week's blizzard.
The Sykesville-Freedom volunteer fire company would like to begin demolition of the station's social hall and other damaged areas within the next 45 days, after deciding on a demolition contractor, said Dennis Beard, a spokesman for the company.
The social hall, a bunk area and administrative offices were among the areas damaged Feb. 11 when part of the building's roof collapsed and struck a gas line, starting a three-alarm fire.
An initial estimate tallied $4.5 million in damages to the station and its contents. Insurance should cover the cost of the damage, Beard said.
The company's engine bay was largely undamaged, and Sykesville has continued to answer all its calls since the fire, he said.
The rest of the station is operating out of a large, enclosed tent erected behind the station.
The structure features a kitchen area with a table, range, refrigerator and shelves to store food and other items, a lounge and dayroom where members can watch television, a bunk area and an area of trailers with restroom and shower facilities. There's also a separate communications trailer with radios and an area where firefighters and emergency personnel can fill out reports.
The insurance company is working on getting more long-term facilities, Beard said. But the temporary structure was enough to keep the company's business running smoothly.
"The only thing that we can't do right now is do the fundraising events in the hall," Beard said.
The hall was typically booked at least once a week, either through the fire company or other organizations, he said. The fire company used the facility twice a month for bingo, which Beard said they would like to continue but would need to find another location.
Other organizations that had reserved the hall would need to find other locations as well, he said.
Fire company member Brian Ludwig, who works as a firefighter in Baltimore County, said he'd slept at the Sykesville fire hall the night before the fire and left about 10 minutes before the collapse. He came back and pulled the company's tower truck around to the back of the station to fight the fire.
Ludwig said having to fight a fire at his own fire station was "heart-wrenching."
The company's situation has brought help from the community and other fire companies.
The day and evening of the fire, units from Reese fire company and West Friendship fire company from Howard County helped provide coverage while Sykesville crews rested or cleaned up, and Winfield's fire company also pitched in the day after the fire, Beard said.
Gamber resident Adrienne Kaylor-Long said she and other members of a country line dancing group she's part of were making preliminary plans to organize a fundraiser to benefit the company. The group had been dancing at the Sykesville fire hall on Wednesday evenings for almost 20 years, she said.
Kaylor-Long said she was in tears listening to her police scanner on the morning of the fire, thinking about the damage to the social hall where she'd spent so many fun times.
"It's a big loss, not only to the community, but us too," she said.
Anyone wishing to make donations to the Sykesville-Freedom volunteer fire company should contact the company first to see what's needed, said company spokesman Dennis Beard. The company can be reached at 410-795-9311.
Hank McCauley washes the road salt off the Sykesville-Freedom fire company’s ladder truck after returning from a call Wednesday. The company’s social hall was destroyed Feb. 11 when the roof collapsed and the building caught fire. The emergency equipment was not damaged.
Photo by Ken Koons, Carroll County Times
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