For the first time in 35 years, a new firehouse has been built in Prince George's County and it's right here in Bowie.

Exciting? Not to everyone. Some question the expenditure of $4.7 million on a firehouse, some question the reduction of staffing at other fire stations in Prince George's County and yet others question the removal of the paramedic unit from the Pointer Ridge station.

All the above were done in order to open and staff the new Northview Fire/EMS Station 816 at the corner of Northview and Health Center drives.

The firehouse is a 12,500-square-foot, one-story facility that will house an engine, paramedic ambulance, battalion chief and an EMS supervisor. The station will be staffed 24 hours a day by two paramedics and three career firefighters.

Now for the controversy. The two paramedics are staffing what used to be an advanced life support unit stationed at Station 43 on Pointer Ridge Drive. The unit is now a paramedic ambulance which means they are dispatched on all EMS calls regardless of the nature of the call.

Under this plan, you could potentially have two paramedics, trained to supply advanced life support care, transporting a patient to the hospital with an injured ankle.

This would leave Bowie residents having to wait for a paramedic unit responding from Glenn Dale, Kentland Upper Marlboro or Anne Arundel County's Waugh Chapel station.

Bowie Volunteer Fire Department president Jon Bigony said of the new station, "The addition of the new station as it is currently staffed, does nothing to enhance the service of the EMS care in the city of Bowie." Bigony added, "The original proposal 10 years ago was for this to be an EMS only station."

State Sen. Doug Peters told those in attendance that the science and technology center, Bowie Town Center and the senior center, were approved for construction based on the building of the new fire station. "We just built the cart before the horse," Peters said.

Prince George's County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones praised and thanked the city of Bowie, calling the city "great team players." "It's the efforts of the city and the volunteers that make this one of the best combination systems in the country," Jones added.

The primary response area for the new station is 8.4 square miles and the projected demand for service in that area is approximately 2,200 calls per year.

The station will include office space, living space, an exercise room, separate sleeping/locker facilities for men and women, a training and meeting room that can accommodate up to 42 people and a training tower.

On the exterior of the building is a 173-square-foot glass mosaic picture depicting what Bowie is all about with a plaque that says, "Bowie at its best."

The artwork was designed by Cheryl Foster who had help from seniors at the Bowie Senior Center. When asked about her helpers, Foster said, "They mosaicked around people decades their junior."

Depicted on the artwork is the likeness of 9-year-old Hayley Yeager, a fourth-grader at Rockledge Elementary School. Foster said she went to Rockledge and had an immediate "artistic" connection with Yeager. "She is an artist years ahead of her time," Foster said.

State, county, city and fire department officials took part in the ceremonial ribbon cutting which was followed by the traditional pushing of the engine into the firehouse.

There has been extensive news coverage regarding the lack of staffing and the closure of fire stations in Prince George's County. Recently it was reported that Prince George's County received $400 million in federal stimulus money. The report also quotes Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson as saying, "The federal dollars helped avoid laying off at least 500 people." The report went on to quote Johnson, "The funds will let us hire more than 50 police officers and purchase public safety equipment."

As there was no mention of additional firefighters, a question was posed to Vernon Herron, deputy chief administrative officer for Public Safety, if there were any plans to use any of the stimulus money to hire firefighters. Herron replied, "I spoke with County Executive Johnson this morning and there will be a firefighter recruit class of 40 starting in January."

Although the new station does not have Bowie in its title, Bowie Volunteer Fire Chief Lee Havens said that the volunteers will still be actively involved in the operations. There will be a deputy chief assigned to the station as well as two administrative positions.