POWHATAN -- It's such a tight fit in the Huguenot Volunteer Fire Station that the firetrucks' mirrors are only about an inch from being taken off when the vehicles pass through the bay doors.

And once the trucks are backed in, their bumpers nearly touch the building's rear wall.

An old kitchen doubles as a workstation, and an upstairs room serves as a combination office, sleeping quarters and dayroom.

"Space is at a premium in this place," said the department's chief, Taylor Goodman. "Basically anything that requires more than 10 people sitting down we have to pull our equipment outside."

Now Goodman and county officials are gleefully looking over plans for a bigger and better facility. Plans call for the new station to be built next year.

Officials with the Huguenot Station, also known as Fire Department No. 2, explored every option for staying in the two-story building that has been home for so long.

Built in 1971 largely by members' labor with materials scavenged from buildings slated to be torn down to make way for Interstate 195 in Richmond, the 3,600-square-foot building has outlived its purpose.

The new facility, which will cost $5.6 million including design, will include a 14,300-square-foot building featuring five bays, a public meeting room that can accommodate 75 people with access to vending machines and a kitchen area.

The station will have space for the rescue squad and an office where a deputy will be able to make calls and do paperwork.

The new building also will include eight individual bunk rooms, three individual shower and toilet areas -- amenities planned with an eye toward the day when the county could have career firefighters who would have to live in the building for up to 24 hours at a time.