Prince William County presents multi‑year plan to rebuild stations, unify apparatus purchases and replace turnout gear

Prince William County fire officials detailed a multi‑year strategy to align station construction, apparatus purchases and personal protective equipment replacement with operations during a budget work session.

Chief Labelle told the Board that the department is treating the system as a single, interdependent network and that planning and funding should reflect that reality. “This is an integrated system. It is not single stations working on their own,” he said.

The proposal would continue the county's station repair and replacement program and fund new stations in the 2026–2031 CIP cycle while shifting apparatus purchases and some station operating support toward a more centralized, systemwide model. Labelle said the county already approved a $4,000,000‑per‑year major repair and renovation program and that the initial list of renovation projects comes to about $1,300,000, with the program likely to spend the full $4,000,000 in a year.

Most of the immediate CIP work and repair money has gone to volunteer stations, but the presentation said the county will also fund county (career) stations as needed. Labelle outlined four stations shown in the FY26–31 plan: Station 30…