Bethesda Fire Department officials said they aren’t close to making a final decision on the future of their aging Fire Station #6, though they will pursue new zoning in order to keep a redevelopment option on the table.

They also presented a “concept idea” for redevelopment that would mean rebuilding the station under a six-story apartment building that would step down to a three-story townhome-like structure along Nottingham Drive, a street of single-family homes in the Chevy Chase West neighborhood. The building would hold about 180 units.

Board members Grant Davies and Nat Finkelstein gave the nearly two-hour presentation on Thursday on the floor of the station, next to a row of lockers stuffed with firefighting gear.

As calls came in over a loudspeaker and firefighters hopped aboard trucks, the two responded to a long list of concerns from residents and repeatedly emphasized that the Board has not made a final decision on how to proceed.

“Do not think that we’ve closed out and chosen an option,” Davies told the audience. “That’s the one request we have.”

The Board laid out four options, including not building anything.

Davies went on to say the no-build option was “not very viable” because the station is 43-years-old and in need of more room for more equipment, including an ambulance that could more quickly get to calls in Friendship Heights.

He also said the Board’s primary goal was to build a modern station to serve a Bethesda and Chevy Chase area growing with density and that will likely have a new transit station with the planned Purple Line light rail.

Davies then described a “refurbish” option, which would involve renovating the station building where it stands. The Fire Department could also build a new standalone station on the open grassy part of the property just west of the current station.

The fourth option, which has drawn official opposition from the Chevy Chase West Neighborhood Association, would involve partnering with a developer to build an apartment complex to help fund the new fire station on the same site.

Before revealing the sketch of what an apartment development might look like, Finkelstein and Davies again reminded those at the meeting that the Board of the Fire Department has yet to choose that option, wary of the negative reaction the proposal has already drawn.

But they did say the Board will pursue the zoning that would allow redevelopment through the rewrite of downtown Bethesda’s master plan. Finkelstein said even if that zoning was provided (the Bethesda Downtown Plan is expected to be finalized by the end of 2015) the Bethesda Fire Department wouldn’t be committed to the redevelopment option.

Both Finkelstein and Davies characterized their talks with county planners as a way to keep all their options on the table, saying a final decision on one of the four options might not come for years and might take even longer to implement.

Many of the questions from residents had to do with the difference between the Bethesda Fire Department — the nonprofit that owns Fire Station #6 and two other local stations — and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service — the county government agency that provides the station with all of its firefighters, much of its equipment and some funding.

Davies responded to “innuendo” he read in emails and elsewhere indicating the Fire Department was looking to build an apartment building to turn a profit.

“Any money that comes out of anything we do goes back into the fire service,” Davies said. “No dollars go to any board members.”

That led some to question why Montgomery County, which does pay to build new fire stations of its own, is relying on a nonprofit to fund a new or renovated Fire Station #6.

Finkelstein said capital funding for an improved Fire Station #6 is not in the county’s 10-year Fire & Rescue Master Plan. (On Monday at 7 p.m., the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board will discuss the Fire & Rescue Master Plan at 4805 Edgemoor Lane.)

“The reason we’re looking into the master plan, we needed to find out if we could even do that as an option,” Finkelstein said, referring to a partnership with a developer. “We don’t know if there’s even a developer interested.”

Finkelstein also said Board members met with high-ranking MCFRS officials last week about the possibility of getting funding to refurbish the existing station or build a standalone new one next door.

Davies said if the Board chooses the apartment option, it would be his preference for the project not to include a ground-floor commercial component. That’s another sticking point for neighbors who for years have fought any commercialization of single family homes along what’s known as the “Green Mile” section of Chevy Chase.

“I categorically don’t want to see commercial space,” Davies said.

The Board will hold another meeting for the public on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at Fire Station #6 (6600 Wisconsin Ave.)

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