The coming week marks the anniversary of another day destined to live in infamy: Sept. 11. So it is not coincidental this "Home of the Week" is being featured today, reminding us not just of those we lost, but also those who remain, and those who do so in our own neck of the woods.

This facility on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula is not the firehouse of days gone by - a place that housed the engines, personnel and living quarters all in the same space, separated only by one level with fumes, biohazards and people all mixing dangerously together.

Much thought has been given to making this a 21st-century fire station with all the bells and whistles, the latest technology and the design elements that benefit both the brave individuals who work here and those they serve.

Welcome to Anne Arundel County's newest firehouse: Fire Station Number 8, opened May 1.

It's a busy day here and it's not even noon. Paramedics are out on a call, there's a birthday party for twin 3-year-old boys under way, and then there's the journalist and accompanying photographer visiting with their escort, Michael Cox, division chief for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

Wait. Did I just say a birthday party?

"Tours and birthday parties - it's a common thing daily," said Lt. Richard Jones, today's station officer. "It's all about public education - that's our greatest protection against fire."

Even with all the commotion, there are still first responders available for calls.

"Five on duty at any one time," Cox said. "Three assigned for the tanker and two for the medic unit."

But there's more to this station than meets the eye.

"It's a specialty station with a dive unit - it's part of special operations for the county," Cox explained. "They try to keep a few divers on duty here all the time."

In other words, many of those who work here - there are 23 in all - have or will have special dive training and certification.

They all work 24 hours on, 72 off, with a 42-hour workweek.

The lieutenant takes over the birthday party and leads the group to the other end of this mammoth, more than 10,000-square-foot building. We end up in the apparatus bay as the firetruck light show begins for the kids.

This is an enormous space housing a state-of-art pumper tanker; paramedic unit (when it's here); 20-foot Zodiak boat; decontamination room; supply room; gear area filled with boots, jackets, helmets and various other firefighter attire; and a mezzanine used for in-house training on scenarios involving second-level or overhead spaces.

In the EMS supply room, amid the many syringes, oxygen masks, nebulizers, bandages, collars and the like, is a single teddy bear. Adorable as he is, he looks very much out of place, but he's not.

"You wouldn't believe how comforting this could be to a sick child," Cox said. "A nonprofit provides these to the fire department and has done so for 20 years."

As for attending to the sick or injured, it keeps our first responders busy.

"More than 80 percent of our calls in Anne Arundel County are for medical emergencies," Cox said. "They are very, very busy - that's been the trend over the last 20 years."

On the tailpipe of the pumper tanker is a hose attached to a track, which allows the truck to be running inside. All exhaust fumes are vented outside through the hose, and when the bright yellow truck moves to leave, the hose runs down the track and automatically detaches.

In case you've wondered, as this writer has, what happened to red fire engines, it seems they weren't visible enough.

"The studies have shown the most visible color, both day and night, is yellow," Cox said.

The pedestrian entrance to the station is actually a glass-enclosed vestibule, allowing someone to enter and quickly lock out anyone who might intend harm.

"It's called a safe harbor vestibule," Cox explained. "It's for citizens - people come to fire stations for assistance; they look to fire stations as a safe harbor."

To the right is the paramedic's office, with the kitchen and dining space just across the hall.

This is some kitchen, with a ton of counter and cabinet space, KitchenAid stainless steel oven and stove, commercial sink, lots of cabinets and one grand Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer.

"I've always said if you want to test out an appliance, put it in a firehouse," said Chris Boettcher, pump operator and appliance tester on duty.

Two customized dining tables, each with the station's number in the middle, were donated by the Annapolis Woodworkers Guild.

A grill was donated by the Annapolis Cove Property Owners Association.

Epoxy flooring in the kitchen has also been used in the bathroom and apparatus bay. Not only does it look good, it seems to wear extremely well.

As might make sense, just outside the kitchen is the gym with a treadmill, universal equipment, recumbent bike, yoga mats and free weights.

"We're still getting a power rack and stationary bike," said Debbie Sosnoski, another firefighter on duty.

"This was all provided through a wellness and fitness grant the department was awarded through Homeland Security," Cox explained.

Just down the hall hangs a painting, based on an original photo, which depicts firefighters raising a flag over the rubble of the World Trade Center. It was painted and donated by a woman named Adrianoh Thompson.

The story, as Cox explained it, based on the memories of others and not record, is that Thompson lives in Alberta, Canada. She originally painted the piece directly after Sept. 11, with the intention of donating it to the New York City Fire Department.

At that time, the NYCFD had received an outpouring of gifts and couldn't accept the painting. A neighbor of Thompson's had a relative who worked for the county Fire Department. The rest, as you can see, is history.

Another office just down the hall is used by the station officer, which comes complete with bed, bathroom and shower.

Across the hall is the day room, which offers up a series of upholstered recliners, TV and desk space.

Beyond this area is the coed sleeping quarters. Single beds are lined up with partitions between each. A side table accompanies each bed, and clips over the partitions can accommodate a hanging outfit.

How does coed work?

"Our department has rules and regulations - our sleeping attire, we have to wear shorts and a shirt," Cox said. "It's been that way for 15 years, so there's no worries about people sleeping in the bunkroom."

The showers and locker room are the same - coed, with four separate showers, each private and enclosed by a door.

While it's true all the bells and whistles are here, what about the one element that is perhaps more symbolic of firehouses than any other: the pole?

Remember, this station is only one level, short of the training mezzanine, so not only is there no need for a pole, apparently they're a thing of the past. Almost.

"There are three stations left in the county that have fire poles," Cox said. "As they are renovated or replaced in the coming years, those fire poles will disappear."

So it's out with the old and in with the new, and those who work here couldn't be happier with their new digs.

"Oh, yes - this to me is like the Taj Mahal," Sosnoski said.

It took almost 40 years, but the Annapolis Neck Fire Station is finally up and running.

Bette Applegate, who has lived in the area for more than 35 years, worked hard to help the station to become a reality.

The funding for the station was put in the county budget and then yanked out more than 15 times, she said. She eventually started gathering groups of her neighbors to approach the County Council and ask for the funding.

"Every year, we kept going back and asking, and every year it didn't happen," she said.

Finally seeing it up and running is "wonderful," she said. Applegate and her family were given a tour of the facility on May 10.

"It's very, very satisfying," she said.

One of the main concerns of residents was the amount of time it took firefighters to reach the Annapolis Neck peninsula. Applegate said it was a 12-minute response time, while five minutes is the norm. Firefighters would have to come all the way from Eastport and down an often traffic-congested Forest Drive.

"This should definitely help, with fire and ambulance," she said.

Division Chief Michael Cox, a department spokesman, agreed.

"This will cut response times in half," Cox said.

The station cost about $4.5 million and is more than 10,000 square feet.

The facility also has several new features that older stations don't, such as a safe refuge area, a vestibule that residents can enter at any time of day. This is helpful for when a person is in danger and needs to get to safety, Cox said.

"It you were worried somebody was following you in the car or someone's chasing you, you can come in here," Cox said.

There's also a red phone outside the side entrance that connects callers directly to 911 dispatch.

Even the construction of the building has been upgraded with an epoxy floor in the kitchen and in the bays that house the vehicles. It's a more modern material that's durable and easier to maintain than tile.

There also will be a gym, complete with treadmills, elliptical machines and free weights.

There are 10 beds, more than most stations, to allow for emergency staffing. And it's only one floor, meaning no steps or poles to go up and down, which will cut down on injuries, Cox said.

It also has a special area that can be used for training.

The station is equipped with a pumper tanker that can hold 2,500 gallons of water, as compared to a traditional engine, which carries 750 gallons. This is because the Annapolis Neck area doesn't have any fire hydrants, Cox said.

It is also home to the county's only dive team - a logical choice because it's centrally located to many water-lined areas, he said.

The station is staffed with five people each day, with firefighters working one 24-hour shift followed by three days off. Inside last week, firefighters were still putting things in place and moving in to their new home away from home.

Lt. David Ritchie Jr., a shift supervisor, said he was happy to land the assignment. Prior to moving to Annapolis Neck, he was a roving firefighter in the Hanover area, filling in at stations as needed. Now permanently assigned to Station No. 8, he has a home.

"I knew there was going to be a lot needed down here, and I wanted to be a part of it," he said.

Several recruits who recently graduated from the training academy earlier this month have been assigned to the station.

Nathan McKinzie, 29, one of those recruits, said it was a great assignment.

"I was excited to be anywhere, but especially a new station, a new company. It's pretty nice," he said.

Shane Cantrell, 32, of Glen Burnie, is another recruit assigned there. He said he expected he'd have to be a roving firefighter for a while before receiving a permanent assignment and said he was "shocked and very, very happy" for the assignment.

"A lot of people wanted to come here," he said.

The Annapolis Neck Fire Station will be officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. June 4. The department will hold an open house for the public on June 6.