Conceptual drawings for a new fire station were presented to the Fire Station Building Committee at their October 15 meeting. Town meeting members agreed at a January 2024 town meeting to purchase the site of the former Chuck’s Steak house at 10 Prospect Street. The $4.05 million deal was completed in April.

Matthew Salad, project manager from Tecton Architects made the presentation with assistance from Fire Chief Stephen Coleman.

Salad has been with the project since its inception in 2018, Coleman said, when ideas were first considered for a public safety building complex.

Salad addressed the proposed building’s site plan, floor plan and two options for exterior renderings.

The siting of the two story building located between Prospect Street and Route 20 allowed almost 100 parking spaces between the fire station and the Veterans Memorial.  The spaces are located in both the rear of the building for employees with about 20 spaces in the front for the public.

There is a large green space to the side of the plan, Salad explained. The thinking is that there could be a police station or some other municipal use there in the future.

“We’re trying to keep the site as compact off the back of Prospect Street as we can,” he said.

The travel lane around the building is 24 foot wide travel lane so it could accommodate two-way traffic, but with its curling trajectory around the building, it is likely be utilIn the conceptual drawings, the public lobby is located on the first floor in the administration wing. The bunking quarters for firefighters is directly accessible to the apparatus bays, allowing for a quick and safe response when there is a call, not involving stairs or fire poles. To the back, there is a transition zone for decontamination of gear on the “hot” side of the station. There is an intentional separation between the living quarters and the hot side to keep the hazardous chemicals at bay, Salad explained.

On the second floor the dispatch room, training classroom and gym are located. 

A vestibule for the public is on the ground floor with a reception window. The administrative suite has a treatment room for immediate medical aid for a walk-in. There is also a chief’s and deputy chief’s office with a small meeting room in between. Also a shared fire prevention room, conference room for the entire admin staff, two rest rooms, aa captain’s office, a lieutenant’s office and the training office. There is also an EMS coordinator’s office.

On the living quarters side, off the back of the building is the main staff lobby, and a series of bunks – nine bunks plus three officer bunks. Four individual lockers are in each bunk room. There are individual rest rooms with showers and a study room for firefighters to study for promotional exams and do report writing. The main living quarters houses a dining area and a large kitchen along with a day room. The quarters are designed to accommodate firefighters working 24 hour shifts.  

A small housekeeping area which includes a laundry is also in the living quarters.

Two transitions zones - a large and a small – along the back and front of the building will aid in managing the HVAC pressurizations, so things stay positively pressurized into the apparatus bays, acting as a giant airlock. There will be hand sanitizing stations and maybe a boot wash to add another layer of decontamination as a firefighter is coming out of the “hot zone.” 

There is also a decontamination station for turn-out gear is in the “hot zone.”

Firefighters coming back from a call go into the decontamination space, drop their gear, clean it and once it’s clean, they bring it into the turnout gear room where it is stored.

Regional dispatch plans

A 4000 square foot space on the second floor was planned as a regional dispatch center, but it was discovered that that plan would most likely be scrapped.

Regional dispatch centers now tend to separate communications from police and fire departments, said the chief Coleman.  Towns want a third party, separate building. Regional dispatch conversations have taken place with Charlton, Leicester, Sturbridge and Spencer, he said.

“None of those communities have an interest in joining a regional dispatch center that sits in a police station or a fire station,” Coleman said. This is due to the change in dispatch duties over the past several decades which previously centered on assisting local police and fire along with administrative tasks.

“The idea originally was to house a regional dispatch center. If no-one’s going to come, it is not cost-effective to move dispatch from the police station to the fire station,” Coleman said.

It will be up to the town if they want to keep the planned dispatch square footage for another use or change the design in that instance, Salad said. 

The space could be kept empty for future use, eliminated or the building expanded out longer making it all one story, he said. They all have cost implications and effects. 

Two exterior versions of the proposed station were presented. The first was in a traditional New England style with the administrative and housing side of the building clad in white fiber cement clapboards with gabled ends in board and batten styling. Multiple windows allowing for natural light and a red brick water table beneath the first floor. The apparatus bay section of the building was pictured as red brick. 

The pitched roof is planned to be made of standing seam metal. A second exterior showed more brick work. 

Committee members emphasized the importance of anticipating future needs, and had suggestions for moving various rooms. Salad said he can’t give a timeline on the new plans without the dispatch room, until the town is able to give him a definite direction and the Select Board would need to give their input first. 

The plans so far still include looking for funding approval from the voters at the Spring town meeting.