Station 60 serves Parkton and the surrounding communities in nort
hern Baltimore County, Maryland.
It's difficult to select an exact date when Parkton Station #60 was established, because the station evolved gradually as citizens' demand for service grew.
The first entry in any station logbook is January 31, 1983. On this date, at 1000 hours, a used Baltimore County Highways Chevy Suburban, designated as Paramedic Unit #7, was placed in service. Paramedic Unit #7 was a temporary solution to meet the needs of a growing rural community that had always been served by the volunteer fire service.
P
aramedic Unit #7 housed at Texas Station #17. The day duty paramedics reported to Station #17 and, after receiving information from the night shift, would drive to northern Baltimore County. The Paramedics would park on the Hereford High's store parking lot or visit the local volunteer fire companies. After completing their shift, they would return to Station #17 for relief. The night shift would remain at Station #17 and respond to calls north of Padonia Road only.
Paramedic Unit #7 operated out of Station #17 for almost a year before getting ar eal home. In the early 1980s, the Parkton Landfill closed, providing a site. There, the county leased a single-wide trailer and built a garage. On December 28, 1983, at 15:00 hours, Paramedic Unit #7 officially moved to the Parkton site.
Eventually, a one-ton truck replaced the used Chevy Suburban, and the Parkton landfill site began to look like a real station. The new unit was designated EMS #7.
On February 1, 1992 at 08:00 hours EMS #7 was placed out of service and reassigned to Texas Station #17. Parkton Medic #60, a reserve transport unit, was placed in service at 09:30 hours.
Responding in the "Hereford Zone" presented some issues. Many of the calls involved traveling on winding, steep, dirt or stone covered driveways and driving through fields, wooded areas and farms. Winters are tougher in the Hereford Zone. On May 25, 1993 the county's first four-wheeled drive medic unit was dedicated at the Station #60.
Parkton Station #60 was still considered a temporary solution to meet the growing needs of Northern Baltimore County. The first mention of a permanent facility appeared in the county's Strategic Plan dated July 1, 1995:
"The present station is a temporary facility housing an ALS unit to backup volunteer medic units in the northern County area .... It is anticipated that a full-size, three-bay drive-through facility may be needed in the future...."
On June 30, 1997 at 0800 hours, a refurbished engine from Station #55 in Perry Hall, designated Engine #60 was placed in service at the Parkton Station to supplement the volunteer system. The engine was fully equipped, and five personnel were assigned to operate Monday thru Friday from 0700 hours to 1700 hours. A paramedic was assigned to the engine, while Medic #60 transported patients to various hospitals.
In 2004, a new engine replaced the refurbished one, and a third generation, four-wheeled drive medic unit was placed in service.
In the mid-2000s, the county appropriated $2.6 million for a new, permanent Station #60. Today, plans call for a new Parkton Station on what is now state-owned property behind the "park and ride" at on Middletown Road, close to I-83, with completion projected for the spring of 2008. The new Parkton Station will be a full-size, three-bay, drive-through facility.
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Engine 60 | Medic 60 |
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Revised May 11, 2007
Courthouse 