When the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company’s East Sudbrook Lane firehouse opened in 1963, the company shared the building with the Baltimore County District Court.
After the court moved in the 1970s, the fire company converted that space into a single large makeshift bunk room where the firefighters and medics could catch some sleep between calls. But it wasn’t an ideal setup by any means, fire company vice president Richard Berkowitz said. “They moved out, and we put beds in,” Berkowitz said. “We had one old, inadequate shower.”
Fifty-five years and a $1.6 million renovation later, the nearly 120 active members of one of the county’s busiest volunteer companies now have six separate bunk rooms, an industrial kitchen, a community meeting room, three unisex bathrooms with showers, a laundry room, day rooms with plush chairs and televisions, seven more offices, a workout room and other amenities.