Rep. McGuire Joins Goochland Officials at Fire Station 8 Groundbreaking

When road construction on Sandy Hook Road forced a roundabout reconfiguration in early 2023, response times to the Sandy Hook area climbed enough to alarm Goochland County Fire-Rescue leadership. Within weeks, crews deployed a daytime ambulance out of a house at 3535 Whitehall Road, running 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shifts in an arrangement that was always meant to be a stopgap. Three years later, that stopgap has handled 1,565 calls for service, expanded to around-the-clock coverage in February 2025, and quietly become the third busiest ambulance unit in the county.

On Tuesday, Goochland County broke ground on the permanent fix.

U.S. Rep. John McGuire joined county officials at 3535 Whitehall Road for the groundbreaking of Fire-Rescue Station 8, a 15,975-square-foot facility at the corner of Whitehall and Dogtown Roads that will be the first entirely new fire station and response district added to Goochland since 1962. The $9.45 million construction contract, awarded unanimously by the Board of Supervisors on March 3 to Ashland-based Gulf Seaboard General Contractor, is funded through the public safety bond referendum Goochland voters approved in 2021 by more than 85 percent.

The gap Station 8 fills is significant. The Sandy Hook community has historically relied on Companies 1 and 3, based in Manakin and Centerville respectively, to respond to emergencies on the county's eastern end. A permanent station with three apparatus bays changes that geometry directly, cutting travel distance for the area and enabling what Chief Eddie Ferguson described as a capability the temporary arrangement could not provide. "The new modern facility will allow us to expand our service levels to include full-scale fire and EMS delivery from a location that was determined to be a need many years ago," Ferguson said. He called the project "the first additional fire station and district added since 1962."

District 2 Supervisor Neil Spoonhower, whose district encompasses Sandy Hook, was pointed about the delay: "For decades the needs of a fire station in Sandy Hook were recognized but never realized." Spoonhower credited the Board for accelerating funding ahead of the original schedule and added, "It has been and will continue to save lives."

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley tied the milestone back to the voters who made it possible. "During the 2021 Bond Referendum, our voters made it clear that they supported strengthening emergency response in Goochland," Raley said.

The finished building is designed with three shifts of six career firefighters around the clock, totaling 18 career positions, with living quarters accommodating up to 12 combined career and volunteer personnel. Its design is described as accounting for durability and ease of maintenance while reflecting the rural character of Sandy Hook.

Site work at the Whitehall and Dogtown intersection has already progressed through demolition of existing structures on parcels the county assembled over the past several years. Residents near the construction site should expect ongoing activity at that corner as vertical construction gets underway.