Plans to expand the facility and services at Fire Station 1-2 on Marrowstone Island are underway, thanks to a recent public/private partnership between East Jefferson Fire Rescue and the Marrowstone Island Foundation.

Historically, the all-volunteer fire station located at 6633 Flager Road has struggled with facility limitations, staffing, and response time to serve the island.

A previous proposal considered buying a used prefabricated structure from Shoreline Fire Department to provide volunteer housing, but that plan was set aside last fall. A failed wet soils test further complicated the project.

East Jefferson Fire Chief Bret Black recently announced that the septic issue on the property had been resolved, and a plan was underway to provide a new building for volunteer crews.

The Marrowstone Island Foundation will provide a three-bedroom, two-bathroom custom-fabricated unit to place onsite, while East Jefferson Fire Rescue will pay for site improvements, preparation costs, and other needed infrastructure.

“It’s a modest structure that will meet the needs,” Black said, while providing a safe working environment.

The station currently consists solely of two bays that house a spare ambulance, a water tender, and a fire truck.

A building contractor has offered needed services free of charge; and the individual is a former volunteer firefighter, Black noted.

“It’s proving to be a really great effort to where everyone is coming together,” the chief said.

Making Station 1-2 more accommodating for volunteers should help lower response times, the chief said. Calls from the northern end of the island can take nearly double the response time of other areas in Jefferson County, sometimes more than 16 minutes.

While islanders makes a small number of calls annually, about 100, the majority are medical in nature. Once staffed with pairs of volunteers on a more regular basis, Black hopes Station 1-2 can provide basic life support services to help stabilize patients while a backup unit is enroute.

While East Jefferson has the potential to receive additional assistance from Naval Magazine Indian Island’s Engine 91, the Navy’s onsite fire department cannot leave the base if a vessel is in port.

With just eight members on staff daily to cover an area of 65 square miles, the fire department is stretched thin.

A successful pilot project on Marrowstone Island launched in June, and used trained volunteers to staff an ambulance until further help could arrive. The crew consisted of EMTs and ambulance drivers, with “over 100 hours of training in [the] cadre of volunteers,” the chief added. Volunteers and career first responders undergo the same rigorous standards of training. Black noted that Jefferson County EMTs and paramedics get to work in a variety of capacities to gain an incredible diversity of skills.

Black is optimistic that an official groundbreaking for the station building will happen soon.

Phases two and three will include applying for grant funding, and stocking supplies in case of a natural disaster on the island.

“The remote geographic nature [of the Peninsula] is the biggest glaring challenge,” Black said.

If the Marrowstone model proves efficient, he said the peripheral communities of Kala Point and Cape George might be potential candidates for similar set-ups with a volunteer reserve firefighter force.

“I do think it’s going to work,” he said.