Dalton Fire District Faces Major Decision on Future of Station
Select Board Chair Robert Bishop brings up the potential of collaborating with the Fire District on a combined public safety building, which would solve both the fire and police station problems.
The district was established in 1884 after rapid growth strained the town's limited water supply for drinking and fire protection. After a fire destroyed seven paper mills, local leaders began searching for new water sources. Check out our story on the district's charter.
MissionCIT (Critical Immersive Training) LLC was contracted by the district to conduct the needs assessment, with its findings presented during last Tuesday's Board of Water Commissioners meeting. View the full report here.
Over the last century, the department has evolved alongside advances in firefighting technology and practices, with changes in staffing, training, equipment requirements, and call volume and types ultimately causing it to outgrow its facility, Mark Waters of Mission CIT said.
The most recent change came in 2022, when the district assumed control of the ambulance service following the closure of the Dalton Ambulance and Rescue Association and added Advanced Life Support to its services.
The department now provides both Advanced and Basic Life Support services.
"The bottom line is that this building is being used for something today that it wasn't built for almost 70 years ago," Waters said.
"You've outgrown it. The standards have changed. The needs have changed. Your service has changed. It's time that you look to change with it. There's essentially really two options in the end: renovate or build new."
Fourteen people attended the meeting, including Select Board members Chair Robert Bishop, Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo and Jeannie Ingram.
Given the large crowd and the need to accommodate those with mobility disabilities, the meeting was held in the apparatus bay, with all fire and emergency vehicles moved outside.
The meeting itself is a demonstration of the need — the district should have a room that would accommodate this kind of crowd, Waters said.
"Think about if this was all the firefighters for Dalton, and you're all in one room, and now you're training — that's the way it should be," he said. "They really shouldn't have to do it on the apparatus bay. [They] should do it in a training room with effective audiovisual equipment."
One of the major challenges facing fire departments today is keeping up with training, especially for a combined career and volunteer department like Dalton's, Waters said.
Therefore, a strong training program is essential to the department's operations. However, the station's cramped conditions create safety concerns and hinder the department's ability to train and operate effectively, he said.
"When you talk about staffing and initial response, time does matter. Fires grow significantly in balloon frame construction houses in a short amount of time," Walters said.
The number one thing that should come out of this report is the health, safety, and wellness of the department firefighters, he said.
A big thing that stood out to Walters when touring the facility and when making the report is the cramped conditions of the bays.
"The clearances between apparatus are kind of dangerous. Unfortunately, in my career, I've been to more than one accident where a firefighter has been struck, including one run over in the firehouse. So, that hits home to me," he said.
"So the fact that you're jam packing here with apparatus and gear racks and all these other things concerns me."
Even with the bay add-on in 2007, space quickly filled up, and now there is equipment outside because it won't fit in the building, Walters said.
An asset of the department is that it has good people making do but that doesn't mean its not challenging, he said.
The current building, not including the acquisition of 30-32 Flansburgh Ave., directly next to the current station, has about 9,420 gross square feet, of which 8,988 feet is usable, Walters said.
"There isn't too many nooks and crannies here that don't have stuff in them. They're packed. The building's packed. You probably, I would venture to say, outgrew this building somewhere 20-plus years ago," he said.
In a follow-up with iBerkshires, Assistant Chief Charlotte Crane said the district hopes to consult with several firms to do a feasibility study to explore its options.
If the district chooses to renovate, in theory, it could add two more bays to the existing station, which it couldn't do prior to the purchase of the Flansburgh property because it would have brought the building to close to the property line, Crane said.
Now that the district owns the neighboring property, Crane said it has greater flexibility for an expansion and could also use the additional land for parking if no construction takes place there.
If the district were to choose to renovate the existing station it is estimated to cost about $6.05 million, which is $375 per square foot for 16,140 square feet.
The renovation would entail two additional apparatus bays, a second floor, new bay doors and heating system, diesel exhaust capture, renovated bathrooms and upgrades to the training room, kitchen and offices.
The other option, and Walters' recommendation, would be to demolish and build new, which would cost $350 per square foot for the 18,000 square feet needed to meet current fire codes.
This would provide the department with six drive-through bays, expanded training and meeting space, separate dormitories and showers, a decontamination room, workshop and exercise space.
Walters made this recommendation because for slightly more money, the department will get a larger station instead of a heavily modified undersized old one.
The fire station is not the only public safety facility in town in need of attention, as officials are also actively seeking solutions for the deteriorating police station.
During the meeting, Bishop proposed that the district and town collaborate to find solutions to both stations by possibly having a combined public safety complex.
The town and the fire district are two separate governing bodies, so a project like this would require substantial collaboration. However, it would also open the project up to more grant funding, Bishop said.
The town was offered a piece of land by Crane Co. for $66,000 that may be big enough to do a public safety building, Bishop said.
The town has invited interim Fire Chief Ryan Foley to become part of the town's Public Safety Facility Advisory Committee, which will next meet on Sep. 22. In a follow-up with iBerkshires, Foley said he intends on accepting this invite.
Tags: fire station,
