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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD The swtich to of civilian dispatchers in the Fire Department and the future of the Sumner Avenue Fire Station were among the topics raised at the meeting of the Public Safety Sub-committee of the City Council on May 9. Fire Commissioner Gary Cassanelli gave City Councilors Domenic Sarno and James Ferrera a report on the possible uses and costs of the Sumner Avenue Fire Station. The station was closed due to budget constraints in 2003 and has only been manned when the budget allowed it, Cassanelli explained. The report noted the cost of rehabilitating the structure, as a fire station would be about $500,000. The report then estimated the cost of staffing the station at $1.4 million. Cassanelli explained that he has been considering renovating the station to be the location for the Firestop program, but those renovations would be more expensive as it would be a community space. That cost would be about $750,000. Cassanelli, though, is looking for a location somewhere between the Sumner Avenue Fire Station and the Oak Street Fire Station for a new station that would combine both. The difficulty is there is no suitable lot currently available, he told Reminder Publications. He suggested the city might have to take an appropriate location by eminent domain. Looking for ways to increase the number of firefighters, Cassanelli explained to the councilors the department is planning to hire eight civilians who would then free up the eight firefighters currently assigned to dispatch. He said there would be a net increase of six positions in the department. The job search should be completed in June and training would be done by late July or August, about the same time the Massreco Street Fire Station is set to re-open. Nancy Morrissey of American Medical Response also attended the meeting and offered her company's help in training the new civilian dispatchers. |