New Cape St. Claire Fire Station Will Continue To Serve Annapolis, Arnold Communities

After 70 years of operation, the Cape St. Claire fire station has been identified for replacement, and following a groundbreaking ceremony in late April, construction is underway.

Station 19, located at 1411 Cape St. Claire Road in Annapolis, is staffed by a combination of career firefighters and volunteers, with five career firefighters present 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year according to Captain Michael Mayo.

Mayo serves as captain at the station and is a public information officer within the Anne Arundel County Fire Department (AACFD).

He shared that in addition to 20 career firefighters, there are about 25 active members of the Cape St. Claire Volunteer Fire Company (CSCVFC) who respond to calls with the career staff, engage the community through events, and staff an ambulance they put into service.

AACFD public information officer Jenny Macallair shared, “No matter where you are in the county, all 31 stations besides Ferndale are staffed 24/7/365 by tax-paid, full-time career firefighters, so you’re going to get the resources you need for your emergency in the county.”

According to the CSCVFC website, Station 19 serves approximately 25,000 people in a roughly 64-square-mile area. Mayo noted that beyond Cape St. Claire, the station’s first-due area encompasses Sandy Point State Park, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (mutual aid with Queen Anne’s County), one of Anne Arundel County’s two fire boats, numerous Annapolis communities, and a portion of Arnold including Bay Hills, Whispering Woods, Dorado Hills and other neighborhoods.

“In my 25 years of being a career member of this department, the call volume has doubled. When I first got hired in 2001, we were around 50,000 calls a year,” Mayo said of the AACFD, which recorded nearly 96,000 calls in its 2025 annual report.

Over the last few years, the Cape St. Claire station has averaged 3,500 calls annually, or about 10 each day. Macallair stated that the new station will provide for growth in the area and will be able to accommodate increased calls.

The new facility will be a 21,571-square-foot, two-story building with four drive-through apparatus bays, 17 bunks for staff, dedicated administrative offices, a community meeting room, and a lobby showcasing the history of Station 19.

That history dates to 1955, when Broadneck peninsula residents gathered and voted to organize as the Cape St. Claire Volunteer Fire Association, according to the CSCVFC website. Two months later, the association adopted its current name and purchased a 1936 Chevrolet fire engine from the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department for $1,800. The existing station was completed in 1957, and additions were built in 1960 and 1962.

Today, the station operates a new fire engine, a pumper tanker, a paramedic unit staffed by career personnel, an ambulance put in service by the CSCVFC, a fireboat, and a truck for special operations equipment for the fireboat. All 20 of Station 19’s career firefighters have qualifications to work on the 50-foot Metal Shark Defiant NXT Fireboat, which has a flow rate of over 8,000 gallons per minute — the equivalent of roughly five fire engines combined.

With an estimated total cost of $18 million, the new county-funded station will include several features that not only make the staff and volunteers’ jobs easier but also will improve their quality of life.

The drive-through bays will put an end to one of Mayo’s least favorite parts of the job: backing apparatus into the existing bays. They will also eliminate traffic delays on Cape St. Claire Road.

Health and wellness are prioritized in the design as well. “Some of the research that has come out, especially over the last five to 10 years, is firefighters getting cancers while they’re still working or after they retire. And they’re very rare cancers that they’re attributing back to some of the hazards that they went into when they were performing the duties of the job,” Macallair said. “So all of our stations that we’ve built in the last five years have cancer reduction (features).”

In the new station, these will include commercial washers and dryers so firefighters can wash their gear onsite rather than sending it out for cleaning, as well as a filtration system in the bays.

Outside, the replacement project includes 23 parking spaces for the fire department and a 24-space lot for use by the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks, which ceded property to the fire department in exchange. Stormwater management measures will include sheet flow and a step pool stormwater conveyance system.

CSCVFC President Randi Beavers also expressed excitement for the new station.

“In 1957, dedicated volunteers built the original station brick by brick, creating not just a building but a foundation of service, dedication and pride that has carried forward for nearly 70 years. Throughout that time, volunteers have worked side by side with the county fire department to make Cape St. Claire a true model of a successful combination department,” she said. “As we look ahead, the new station represents a critical investment in the health, safety and improved quality of life for all members — career and volunteer alike — ensuring that this legacy of service continues for generations to come.”

It is anticipated that the new Cape St. Claire fire station will be operational by the winter of 2027-2028. The existing station will remain fully operational throughout construction.