Revised plans for Forestville firehouse project come before building committee this evening

Architect's rendering of the original proposal for Firehouse 3. | Silver Petrucelli Associates

Posted By: David Fortier December 27, 2023

By David Fortier

The plans for a new firehouse to serve Forestville that will come before the Firehouse 3 Building Committee this evening have been vastly reduced from the previous ones, posing a problem for the fire chief who has worked to make the project fiscally sound for both citizens and firefighters.

“I’m just very upset,” Fire Chief Rick Hart said. “The cost estimate came in at $900 a sq. ft., when I’m reading national publications that are showing firehouses that are being built for between $500 a square foot and $800 a square foot.”

The higher costs are associated with firehouses in California which cost more on average than in those Northeast, he said.

The original proposal had already endured many cuts to get to its 10,001 sq. ft. footprint, he added.

The chair of the building committee said he needs to see how the city can come up with the difference between what the city has set aside for the project, $6 million, to justify nixing the latest plan and returning to the original design, now around $9.5 million taking into account increased costs.

“We have three objectives on the committee ” said Sean Moore, committee chair and the senior member of the Fire Commission. The Board of Fire Commissioners will meet Thursday for an update on the plans.

“First, I would tell you is to obviously get a quality job. to bring it in on time and third is to bring it in at or under budget. We originally had an approximately 10,000 sq. ft. building budgeted, so now we have to rethink that.”

Board of Finance chair David Maikowski, who sits on the Firehouse 3 Building Committee, said that he always goes into a meeting with an open mind.

“My goal is that we build a firehouse that meets the needs of the city,” he said via email. “I am sure we will be discussing many options to achieve this objective at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers of Bristol.”

The original plan called for three bays, with one for a new tower truck–the truck has already been purchased and will be delivered in the future. The latest plan has two bays and is about 2,000 sq. ft. less than the original 10,001 sq. ft.

In the place of a third bay, Architect Chris Nardi of Silver Petrucelli Associates has included a storage area with the potential for future expansion. However, according to Hart, even with expansion, and now with the storage area included, the city would have to maintain the old Firehouse 3 at a cost of least $12,000 a year for basic utilities.

Bays are used for a variety of purposes, Hart said. Fire equipment, especially trucks, cannot be exposed to the elements.

This is only one of the problems with the reduced plan, Hart said. Another includes compliance issues–the city is not in compliance with firefighting standards, either with the current firehouses and with staffing. The original plan would address these.

“With the staffing as proposed, we will be 100 percent compliant 100 percent of the time,” he said, referring to the additional staffing that would come with the new facility and its three bays.

The salaries for the additional staff might be covered by a grant from FEMA, Hart said, for the first three years, buying the city time to meet the additional costs over time. The grant would not cover benefits, he said, to make certain he was not fudging the figures.

And finally, the benefits of the original proposal have ramifications beyond the fire department.

“It’s a phenomenal achievement for any municipality to have a Class One fire department,” Hart said.

Not only does it affect the quality of fire services, but it also translates into savings for businesses and homeowners when it comes to lower insurance rates.

“It’s a win-win,” Hart said. “We just need to get over that initial sticker shock.”

The old firehouse further up the street on Church Avenue sits at a precarious location. The bend in the road has been the scene of several accidents in poor weather. Its two bays are smaller ones and quarters are severely cramped. The building is badly outdated.

Moore acknowledged that the plans for the new building were still at step one but would like to have shovels in the ground late in the second quarter in 2024.

“We are not through the city boards yet,” said Moore. “We don’t have a site plan and all that. You think it would be easy on a municipal building. It’s not like a layup.”

“If you don’t have your ducks in a row, you have to wait another month,” he added.

The city has already purchased property at 81 Church Avenue for the new firehouse, which is supposed to serve its purpose for another 60 years, as has its predecessor. The property cost $500,000, almost double the estimate with increased property values.

“You have to do these things, the longer you don’t do them, the more they cost, you are just kicking the bucket down the road. You just have to bite the bullet and do the best you can with what you have,” Moore said.

Members of the Firehouse 3 Building Committee include Hart, Moore, Maikowski, Fire Captain Craig Henderson, John Lodovico, Public Words director Ray Rogozinski, City Council member Sebastian Panioto, Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano and the city’s purchasing agent Roger Rousseau. Rousseau is not a voting member.

The Firehouse 3 Building Committee meets this evening at 6 p.m. in Meeting Room 1-1 in City Hall. The regular Board of Fire Commissions meets Thursday, Dec. 28 in the city council chambers at 6 p.m.

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