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Date: 3/9/2023
HAMPDEN — A second fire station needs assessment was completed with the community on March 2. Jeffrey McElravy, a principal architect for Tecton Architects who specializes in the design of emergency services structures, provided options for how to use available space and manage costs.
“What I’m really after is a consensus between the Fire Department and the community,” McElravy said.
About half of the Fire Department’s personnel took part in a needs assessment at the beginning of the year to gather information on what firefighters and department leadership felt would improve their working conditions. Then, during the first community assessment in mid-January, Tecton Architects presented the public with information on common needs and spaces at fire stations and asked those present in person and online to take a survey about what they would like to see in the station.
The top three priorities of public aligned with those of the fire professionals – firefighter health, operational safety and the capacity of the bays that house firetrucks, ambulances and other fire apparatus. All respondents recognized a need for improvements to the station. People were also interested in training, office space, a day room and kitchen. Most people were not concerned with sleeping areas, as the department is not staffed 24-hours a day. The survey had revealed that twice the respondents were interested in building a fire station with the future in mind, rather than fixing the existing station.
According to McElravy, best practices call for dedicated “firematic support spaces,” which consist of storage and decontamination spaces for firefighter “turnout” gear and equipment, such as Jaws of Life and chainsaws. Breathing masks and the associated air tanks, called self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) are also kept in firematic support spaces. Storing used, uncleaned gear and equipment in the bays exposes firefighters to carcinogens and other toxic chemicals that they came into contact with at the site of a fire, he explained.
The apparatus bays and firematic support spaces account for the largest use of space in the station. McElravy pointed out that undersized bays would require custom apparatus in the future, incurring higher costs. “Way more accidents happen in the fire station than on the scene,” McElravy remarked, citing crowded areas and contact with hazardous materials.
McElravy said the design of a station can impact health, safety, response times and volunteerism.
The Mitchell Associates study completed in 2020, estimated the space for the Fire Department needs at 17,172 square feet. The plan called for shared offices, private offices, bunk rooms, improved training areas, a day room, apparatus bays and firematic support areas, for an estimated cost of $12 million. As building material and service prices have increased drastically since 2020, due largely to inflation and supply chain issues over the past two years, Tecton Architects estimated that price for the Mitchell Associates plan would be over $16 million by the time construction begins in 2024.
Tecton presented three alternative options with varying sizes and footprints that incorporate most, but not all spaces the Mitchell Associates study identified. Option One is the smallest of the three layouts. At 12,276 square feet, it includes shared office spaces and an improved shared day room and kitchen, in addition to the apparatus bays and firematic support areas, which all options included. McElravy said the first option would solve the Fire Department’s needs for the next five to 10 years and cost between $10.9 million and $12.3 million.
At 14,662 square feet in size, Option Two has both a private office and shared office space, a small bunk room for two fire personnel, an improved training area, a combination kitchen and day room. This station would not need updating for 10 to 15 years. The cost for this option ranges from $13.1 million to $14.7 million.
Option Three, at 16,631 square feet, has multiple private offices and shared office space, bunk rooms, an improved training area and a kitchen and day room. It would cost somewhere between $14.9 and $16.6 million and would take care of the department’s requirements for longer than 15 years.
A poll taken of residents watching at home and in the room showed that, of 15 responses, nine people preferred Option Two. Resident Mary Ellen Glover pointed out that fewer than 1 percent of residents attended the first public forum and the number at the second meeting was not much higher. Town Administrator Bob Markel said notices were put in the newspapers, the information was posted on the town’s website and 2,400 residents received robocalls.
“It’s hard to know what people want if they don’t show up,” McElravy remarked.
A resident asked about the possibility of building a substation instead of a larger main fire station. Fire Chief Ed Poulin told him, “We don’t need two stations,” and said he was not aware if the town owns property that would be appropriate for a second station.
Resident Robin Warner asked McElravy if renovation had been considered instead of new construction. The architect explained that no decision had been made on whether the existing fire station would be added to and renovated or if there would be a new fire station. Despite this explanation, another resident asked if they could see plans for a renovation and Warner suggested that other existing buildings in town could be utilized as a fire station rather than constructing a new building. McElravy again emphasized that the presented options could be implemented with an addition and renovation or a newly constructed building.
Markel told Reminder Publishing the Board of Selectmen have not even discussed the idea of moving or demolishing the existing fire station. “We’d have to have a site central enough to the majority of the population. Do we have space in the center?” Markel asked, referring to the area of town surrounding the Town Hall. “I don’t think so. The inclination of the selectmen, at this point, has been renovation.” There is space at the rear of the fire station property to expand the building.
Markel said tearing down the existing building and disposing of the material would be “super expensive,” adding that due to the age of the building, it likely contains asbestos and other materials that have a high cost of disposal.
Some residents reacted to the presentation positively. One person said the presentation “opened my eyes” to the department’s needs and “the variety of ways we could address them.” Poulin said he would like more town projects to be presented in a needs-based fashion.
Other residents were not satisfied with the information provided. Maura Ryan said she would have liked more information, while Glover said she would have preferred to have been given a choice between concrete designs for a possible new building and a renovated building.
The next steps will be for the Board of Selectmen to review each of the spaces identified by the public forums and decide what is required and appropriate for the town, Markel said. “I think [Tecton Architects] has given us a template on how to proceed,” he opined.
Markel added that the “real crunch” would be undertaking the fire station and senior center projects as well as the Town House study. He said it is unlikely all three will take place at the same time.