Damage to force demolition of Carroll County fire house

SYKESVILLE, Md. - Firefighters battled the blaze for hours after the roof of the Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department collapsed under more than four feet of snow... taking out gas lines in the process.

The fire gutted the banquet hall---the community center for social events, but now it appears the damage extends well beyond that.

"When the experts started looking over the structure, the walls, etc. they just felt that it would be better to go ahead and demo everything and go from scratch," said Life Member Dennis Beard who first joined the department in 1971.

Cracks in the block walls running from the second floor administrative offices to the foundation may have come from the thousands of gallons of water used to extinguish the fire... freezing with February’s bitter cold conditions.

Outside of the wing housing the fire engines and other apparatus, the rest of the building must be demolished.

The initial estimate for the structural loss, for the building itself, is placed at about $4.5 million and that will be covered by insurance.

But the firefighters lost a few hundred thousand dollars worth of contents that will not be covered, and they’re hoping their biggest fundraiser of the year, their upcoming carnival, will help make up the difference.

"Everything we raise from the carnival is going towards the living quarters for the fire department---new kitchens and the hall.... for the rent outs to the community,” said Captain Robert Ruch, “just to have everything just to have everything nice and ready to use."

Living out of trailers behind the building, the men and women of Company 12 continue to answer the alarm... responding to more than 200 fires and 600 calls for paramedics since the fire gutted their station house.

The department’s carnival will run from Monday, June 21, through Saturday, June 26 on the grounds behind the damaged fire house.