CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (Delmarva Now) — Chincoteague's 1930 fire station on Main Street is for sale, as the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company prepares to move into a brand-new, up-to-date station.
For the list price of $950,000, someone can purchase the historic brick building at 4028 Main Street, where the volunteer fire company has been based for as long as Chincoteague's current volunteer firefighters can remember.
The fire company owns and cares for the herd of wild Chincoteague ponies on Assateague, and it holds the annual Pony Penning week activities that attract thousands of visitors to the island each July, as well as the annual carnival.
"This is the only station that our members today have ever known. It's going to be bittersweet," said Denise Bowden, Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company spokesperson.
The oldest part of the 13,260-square-foot building was constructed in 1930, with another section built in 1957, according to Bowden.
The volunteer fire company was organized in May 1924, with 14 members. After two devastating fires, one in 1920 and the other in 1924, virtually destroyed large sections of the island.
With a commercial kitchen upstairs, five restrooms, a water view and a location in the historic downtown area, the building has various possibilities for reuse.
The property is listed with Long & Foster Real Estate of Chincoteague.
"It has a lot of potential. The possibilities are really endless," Bowden said.
In the meantime, the new, 20,663-square-foot fire station is nearing completion.
“It’s close. The new station should be completed between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Bowden said.
The company purchased the land at 5175 Chicken City Road in fall 2011, when it became clear that it was outgrowing the current 3,260-square-foot station.
Gillis Gilkerson was contracted in 2015 to build the new station, which includes a new commercial kitchen, dining area, community space, bunk rooms, administrative offices, Fire and EMS storage space and training and conference rooms.
The fire company broke ground on the building in April 2017.
The plan is likely to move operations into the new firehouse after the New Year, Bowden said. The move requires a lot of logistics — including getting all the equipment and communications operations transferred, while still functioning and answering calls.
“A lot of people have asked why are we building a new station. Technology has caught up with us,” Bowden said, noting that, among other issues, modern fire and rescue equipment doesn’t fit into the old station.
“We had to lease the old town garage from the town to put our new fire trucks in, because they just wouldn’t fit,” she said.
Additionally, the company needed more bunk space for medics and more room for training.
“Basically, it has just been a long time coming. It’s much needed to serve the citizens and visitors — and that’s what it’s for, to serve this town,” Bowden said.
The one thing Bowden hopes won't happen is for the old building to be destroyed.
“Personally, I’d hate to see anybody want to buy it to tear it down or anything — I don’t see that happening, but what a tragedy that would be,” Bowden said.
Some around town have said the building would make a good brew-pub or another type of commercial space, she said.
While the move to new quarters is needed, "That station will always hold a big piece of our hearts," Bowden said, adding, "We just hope that whoever gets it treats it the way we have."
