Richmond’s oldest fire station reopens in newest firehouse

The new Fire Station 12 at 2223 W. Cary St. opened Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house. (Jonathan Spiers photos)

The city’s oldest fire station is back in operation at what is now Richmond’s newest firehouse.

Officials with the city and the Richmond Fire Department celebrated the completion and opening of the new Fire Station 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Wednesday at the newly constructed building at Cary and Addison streets.

The brick-and-glass building replaces the century-old, two-story firehouse that was razed two years ago to make way for the project. Totaling 13,400 square feet, the new building more than doubles the space of its predecessor, which was built in 1908 and was recognized as the oldest operating firehouse in Richmond.

Mayor Danny Avula, City Council representative Stephanie Lynch and others were on hand for the ceremony, which also included remarks from interim Fire Chief Jeffrey Segal.

Also on hand was Barbara Hicks-Spring, Richmond’s first female firefighter who also served at Fire Station 12; Leslie Lewis, whose late husband Ronald Lewis was Richmond’s first Black fire chief; and Bill Willis, who served on the former Engine Co. 9, Richmond’s first Black firefighter company.

Cutting the ribbon were, from left: interim Chief Jeffrey Segal, Capt. Hallie Neville, Leslie Lewis, Mayor Danny Avula, Barbara Hicks-Spring, City Councilmember Stephanie Lynch and Bill Willis. (Mike Platania photo)

Such history is highlighted at the new station, which features displays of department memorabilia inside and archival images of firefighting in Richmond on decals on the station’s exterior doors and windows.

The three-story structure also features a red fire ladder sculpture suspended above its entrance. The sculpture was commissioned by Richmond’s Public Art Commission and designed by art collective A Gang of Three and local artist Sylvio Lynch III.

The station’s new fire pole.

The building also features a new fire pole, replacing the station’s old pole that had been the only one in use in the city. The retired pole is planned to be displayed in the new firehouse as well.

The $13 million project has been years in the making, with plans approved in 2021 and a contract awarded in 2022 to Hopewell-based construction firm J.W. Enochs, which also performed the demolition. During the project, the fire station’s crews and apparatuses operated out of Fire Station 5, on Leigh Street in Jackson Ward.

Designed by local firm Moseley, the new Fire Station 12 was recognized with an Honor Award at last year’s Fire Station Design Awards Program, a national recognition put on by the Fire Industry Education Resource Organization.

In his remarks at Wednesday’s ceremony, Mayor Avula noted the mingling of art and history in a building that also improves the station’s operations.

Art abounds outside and inside the firehouse.

“I want to congratulate everybody who’s had a hand in this – to our fire department, to all the folks in the planning and design and building – and to invite you, the community, into this space as part of our city’s story,” Avula said.

Added Lynch, whose City Council district includes the station: “Our firefighters take time away from their families; they miss holidays; they are in people’s darkest moments and brightest times, quite literally. And they do so without oftentimes a thank you, an acknowledgement, for their every-single-day acts of service and heroism that they do not only for the city of Richmond but for the entire community.

“For the longest time, this building was a beacon of community and service, and here we are today giving them the building that they deserve.”

The ceremony was held in the station’s fire truck bays.

The building includes two fire truck bays, a smaller third bay for an administrative vehicle, a mezzanine between the first and second stories, and a top-floor terrace overlooking Cary Street.

Other features include a fitness room, a dayroom with kitchen, conference rooms and offices, individual sleeping quarters, restrooms and showers, and a community room for neighborhood meetings and events. The building can accommodate as many as 109 people and is designed to minimum LEED Silver certification standards.

Wednesday’s ceremony was briefly interrupted by a passing fire truck responding to a call. Later in the day, a three-alarm fire in Shockoe Bottom saw a massive response from the department and other agencies. Two firefighters were reported to have suffered from heat exhaustion while battling the blaze, which started at 1706 E. Main St. and spread to adjacent buildings. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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