Work is proceeding apace on Mathews Volunteer Fire Department’s new Station 1, to be located in the former Mathews Boys and Girls Club on Church Street.

The front part of the building was nearly completed at the end of March. All electric, HVAC, and plumbing elements were installed, new flooring was in place, all sheetrock was painted, and cabinets, plumbing fixtures and appliances were being installed in the expansive kitchen and restrooms.

All this was done in spite of the fact that firefighter Troy Garrett, serving as volunteer project manager, suffered a heart attack in mid-February and had to have several stents put in. He went to the hospital on Saturday and was back at work on Monday.

“I feel fine now,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I just need to learn how to take a vacation.”

Garrett’s company, Garrett Industries LLC, has done much of the work on the project, including painting, jackhammering, lighting and electrical, but work has also been done by other Mathews contractors, four inmates from the Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center, and a handful of firefighters who volunteered their time.

“Everybody in the county has been supportive,” said Garrett. “It’s important for us to get this done and do it right.”

The Mathews Board of Supervisors, meeting on March 19, praised Garrett and the fire department as a whole.

Supervisor Tim Doss spoke of how the fire department had saved the county money on the new building by doing much of the work. Originally faced with spending up to $10.3 million on a new building on unbroken ground adjacent to Mathews High School, the county is now looking at $4.2 million, including the cost of purchasing the former Mathews Boys and Girls Club.

In a walk-through of the building on March 20, Garrett pointed out all the progress that had been made. A front office was largely completed, with just some painting left to be done, and two newly-installed ADA-compliant public bathrooms with three stalls each had brand-new ceramic tile floors and roughed-in plumbing, with cabinets slated for installation a couple of days later. An extensive system of ducts was still visible over the kitchen, which was awaiting a ceiling.

An IT closet in a small office was wired and equipped to allow all television screens and computers throughout the building to operate either separately or in sync with each other. A large-screen television in the meeting room will be an asset for training, and will be visible to virtual training for firefighters who can’t make it to a group meeting. Wi-Fi will be available throughout the building.

“We’ve tried to encompass everything; to look toward the future,” said Garrett.

With the front portion of the building near completion, demolition had already begun on the back portion, which was built originally as a large gymnasium. A two-story structure inside the gym that previously provided classroom space below and storage above had already been demolished, and two remaining bathrooms were slated to be demolished after the new ones were furnished. The space will be outfitted with a dayroom downstairs and bunk rooms, locker rooms and bathrooms upstairs for firefighters to be able to stay the night. The living spaces will be separated from the remaining part of the gym by a two-foot wall that will be sealed off from the apparatus bay.

While the living quarters are under construction, said Garrett, workers will start on the apparatus bay. The existing concrete floor will be demolished and replaced with reinforced concrete that’s thick enough to handle the weight of large, water-laden fire trucks, and additional steel beams and supports will be installed to handle the framework for large apparatus doors. The existing outer skin, including the roof, will be replaced with all new metal. The building should be finished by early next year, he said, hopefully well before the scheduled finish date of September 2027.

Outside, a front parking lot will accommodate firefighters and visitors, and a wrap-around driveway will enable equipment to go straight through the bays, as needed. An easement along the property on the east side will add enough space for entering and exiting equipment to have a reasonable turning radius, and the rear parking lot at the human services building will have a new driveway added to provide an entry/exit without interfering with parking for social services and health department employees.

The fire department will install a grant-funded double EV Station for the public to use, just as it has at two other stations in the county, and there will be a picnic area outside on the lawn.

Garrett was full of praise for the fire department building committee that has made all the decisions, as well as for all of the community partners who have helped with the project, from the inmates who have worked so hard that in one day of demolition, they filled up nearly three 20-yard dumpsters, to the material suppliers who have generously provided discounts, to everyone else in between. Even businesses outside the county have been generous when they’ve found out a volunteer fire department was doing the work.

“It’s a wonderful project,” said Garrett. “It can be a little hectic, but it’s great. I think the county’s going to be proud.”

Background

Replacing Station 1 in Mathews Court House became a significant goal for the board of supervisors in the early 2020s, and the county purchased a 40-acre tract between Liberty Square and Glebe Road for $75,000 for that purpose.

However, much of that land was determined to be nontidal wetlands, and in 2023, with new supervisors seated on the board, the decision was made to purchase a different site, an eight-acre site at Moger’s Corner, adjacent to Mathews High School, for the new firehouse. The cost of the land was $300,000, and the county set aside funding to pay for design and engineering costs.

In March 2025, the board’s configuration changed once again, and the new board decided to purchase the former Mathews Boys and Girls Club for $575,000 after it heard a report from an architectural firm on the cost of locating the new fire station at that site.

Donald Booth of DJG Inc. told board members that a new firehouse at the Moger’s Corner site would cost between $6.5 million and $8.5 million, but development of the land could run the cost up to as much as $10 million. The 13,500-square-foot Boys and Girls Club, in contrast, could be torn down and rebuilt as a firehouse at a cost of around $6 million, he said, while it could be refurbished for the same purpose for around $5.6 million.

In early April 2025, then-supervisor Dave Jones suggested that the board could save money on renovation costs if it were to turn ownership of the Boys and Girls Club over to the fire department and provide the department with $3 million to renovate it. By mid-April, the rest of the board was convinced that this was the way to go and voted to transfer ownership of the property to the fire department and provide it with $3 million in incremental payments over a two-year period. As part of the deal, the fire department agreed to turn ownership of the current Station 1 over to the county. That property is assessed at a value of $633,200.

As of this month, the county had paid $1.5 million for the renovations, then voted on March 19 to pay an additional $2.8 million, which includes additional costs associated with building an extra driveway and sidewalks.

SHERRY HAMILTON / GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Classrooms in the gymnasium of the former Boys and Girls Club were demolished and will be replaced by a two-story structure that will house a dayroom downstairs and bunkrooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms upstairs for firefighters. The rest of the gym, shown below, will be turned into apparatus bays for fire trucks.