Middleburg Station 3: Keeping Hunt Country Safe
Written by Bill Kent | Photos by Sherri Holdridge
When he has the time off, Captain Bill McGann likes walking around Middleburg. “I love the small-town feeling,” he says. “It’s restful. Peaceful. Most people don’t even know we’re here.”
Until a call comes in. Then, as many as six times in a single 24-hour shift, McGann and his team of 24 firefighters, emergency management technicians, and paramedics will suit up and pilot any of a half dozen emergency vehicles, with sirens wailing and lights flashing, down the ramp from the Middleburg Fire & Rescue station to save Hunt Country property, lives, and the occasional cat up a tree.
One of 21 stations in Loudoun County, Middleburg Station 3, chartered in 1916, is neither the oldest (Leesburg’s was established 1803) nor the largest (Aldie’s facility spans over 20,000 square feet).
Among the 807 uniformed career staffers employed by the Loudoun County Fire & Rescue, 50 of whom are women, Middleburg is known as one of the “slower” stations in that its call volume tends to be lower than those located in the more populated eastern areas of the county. The most recent statistics show that Cascades handled 4,185 “significant incidents” from April through June 2025, compared to Middleburg’s 460. Of that number, 276 were emergency medical situations (including auto accidents), while 184 were related to fire, burning vehicles, or threats to property.
“We’re here to answer the call, no matter what it is,” McGann adds. “Other stations may get calls about dryer vent fires or broken water mains. We get a little of that, but the big difference is that people out here tend to be self-reliant. Many live alone, or in isolated circumstances. Some houses here have driveways a mile long. The people in those houses don’t want to bother anybody, or they think they can deal with anything by themselves. I respect that. I tend to be that way myself. But, when it comes to emergencies, if I could tell people to do one thing to stay safe in winter, it’s to call us. Don’t wait until it gets worse.”
There are other differences that make Hunt Country problematic for emergency response personnel. Slumbering next to the station’s $1.1 million yellow striped fire engine is what appears to be a pickup truck with a tank in the back. This apparatus, as firefighters like to call their vehicles, is a brush fire truck.
What Middleburg firefighters call “brush fire season” is currently at its peak, and will continue through mid-February. During this time, property owners can do a controlled burn in an open area located at least 50 feet from a house or barn. On a cold, dry winter day, a gust may blow embers to parts of a field, woodland, road, or inhabited area nobody wants to burn.
In those cases, “we send out the brush fire truck for that, sometimes with a tanker truck so we have enough water,” McGann says, noting that some Hunt Country communities don’t have hydrants connected to their water supply.
If the brush fire, or any emergency incident, occurs after a thick snowfall, a county snowplow will lead the way. “If you live in a gated community, or any place with a gate that requires a password or number code to open, please let the dispatcher know the code when you call.”
Travis Preau, acting systemwide fire chief of LCFR, agrees. “Many times we encounter small driveways with overgrown trees and bushes, which can delay our response or cause damage to our vehicles.” His advice: clean up your driveways and make sure your address is visible in both directions at the end of that driveway.
“When it comes to emergencies, if I could tell people to do one thing to stay safe in winter, it’s to call us. Don’t wait until it gets worse.”
–McGann
Technician Jerry Dean adds that anyone who has a chimney, which gets its most use in winter, should make sure it’s clean of potentially flammable soot and in good enough repair to withstand the icy winds that can knock them down, especially when they’re in use. “If you have a gas fireplace, or a gas heater, get a carbon monoxide detector and make sure it’s working,” he advises. “And I shouldn’t have to tell you about smoke detectors.” The team offers free smoke detector inspections that can be scheduled at Hunt Country residents’ convenience.
And don’t be afraid to call or visit the station if you have any questions or your kids want to get up close to a fire engine. “Our Fire & Rescue personnel assigned to Middleburg build strong connections within the community and truly appreciate the many traditions and events that take place throughout the year,” Preau shares. “Maintaining strong relationships with the people we serve allows them to feel at ease knowing we are always here to help.”
Some incidents that the Middleburg station addresses happen year-round: traffic accidents, collisions with deer, house fires, injuries, and sickness at home, on the job, or on the farm. “We have houses out here that are so old, and built up so much, that I think some of the owners don’t know all that’s inside them,” Preau says. “I have been in attics that have trees growing up under the rafters.”
During the warmer months, the station’s ambulance will answer calls “regarding everything you can think of about horses,” McGann continues. “People get kicked, fall off, and so forth, and we take them to the hospital that’s best able to help them.”
Though Middleburg is surrounded by hospitals, the closest, Dulles’ Stone Springs, is at least a 20-minute drive to the east with sirens blaring. In the winter, on icy roads that lack shoulders for drivers who must yield to ambulances, the trip can take considerably longer.
McGann smiles when he calls Hunt Country’s famous swerving, curving, narrow-bridged, unpaved byways “goat trails. No offense intended if you live on one. But in the winter, it can take longer to reach you, and longer to take you to the hospital emergency room.”
This is why technician Mike Donaldson asks people to stock up on groceries and medications in winter, “try not to drive in inclement weather, and don’t shovel the snow if you’ve had heart problems.”
The Middleburg station was started and run by volunteers until 2015, when the existing company notified the county that a decrease in volunteers might end its existence. The company was taken over by the county and is now fully staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by LCFR career personnel. McGann, who lives near Winchester, is the rare station staffer who resides close to the community they protect. Though firefighter Andy Sowers’ home is in Pennsylvania, he makes the drive back to Middleburg with his wife on his days off “because she likes the shops and the restaurants.”
“Maintaining strong relationships with the people we serve allows them to feel at ease knowing we are always here to help.” –Preau
The rest of the Middleburg station’s staff live further away, in West Virginia, Maryland, and even New York. Long commutes are possible because for every 24-hour shift a staffer works, they have 48 hours off. “Having 20 days off a month can be appealing to some people who do other jobs,” says firefighter Robert Topa. “But after a few calls in a shift, you’ll be amazed if you can do anything but rest.”
The station sleeps 14 and has a full kitchen, where “Uncle” Dean’s biscuit and venison gravy breakfasts are legendary. “We’re like a family here and I’m everybody’s uncle,” he says of the nickname. The station also has a TV viewing area and weight gym. McGann likes to see every team member exercise during every shift.
But the danger remains. No one has forgotten the bravery and death of volunteer firefighter Trevor Brown when a propane tank exploded inside a house in Sterling, on the county’s eastern edge, during the winter of 2024. A 2021 National Institutes of Health study found that, nationwide, 27% of firefighters suffer a line-of-duty injury every year.
At the same time, everyone at the Middleburg station appreciates the words of kindness from those they have helped. As county employees, they are forbidden from accepting gifts or tips, but baskets of home-baked cookies and sweets are always appreciated.
“We know we make a difference every time we walk out the door,” Topa adds. “We have no doubts about what we signed up for.” ML
Featured photo, left to right: Technician Chad Michael, technician Jerry Dean, firefighter/paramedic Andrew Sowers, Captain Bill McGann, firefighter/paramedic James Harvey, and firefighter Robert Topa.
Published in the January 2026 issue of Middleburg Life.