EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally said, incorrectly, that the project would make room for more trucks. It should have said “make more room for the trucks.” It also included a quote that should have said, “the least we can do is provide these guys with a suitable place to work.” Sleeping quarters will not be constructed. The story has been updated.
The Hancock Fire Department is hoping to fund a $1.3 million station renovation to make more room for trucks and create areas where firefighters can safely store and don their gear.
“The department is looking to make more room for trucks and construct a clean room and a dirty room,” said Hancock Fire Chief Tom Bates. The dirty room would provide somewhere to store and clean carcinogen-laced equipment.
On the town website, the department said the plans call for an additional bay on the building’s south side, which would hold vehicles and give firefighters a place to don their gear before safely reaching their vehicles. A northwest addition will create meeting space and a handicapped accessible restroom for users of Moose Brook Park.
Personal protective gear currently shares space with fire trucks, creating a potential health hazard. Engine exhaust deposits chemicals on equipment, increasing health risks for first responders.
A statement from the department said, “Dirty areas with apparatus and gear contaminated by fire scenes can be toxic and cancer-causing.” The redesign will separate the gear storage from the apparatus area, lowering the risk of exposure to contaminants.
If the plans are approved, the department hopes to get a new septic system as well.
The town is working with a construction manager and an architect, Paul MacNeely, from Eck MacNeely Architects of Boston.
The Fire Department said the renovations are needed to make a safer place for firefighters, minimize environmental hazards, address unsafe workflows and update the infrastructure. A new layout will keep first responders from unnecessarily crossing active traffic lanes. It will also enable firefighters to put on their gear away from moving fire trucks. Adding two bay doors will end the inefficient stacking of vehicles, speeding up emergency departures.
To limit taxpayer impact, the committee is using alternative funding sources, including the Hancock Fire Department Association and corporate entities. Right now, about $700,000 is needed from the town, which is split between private donations and taxation, while the anticipated funding from tax revenue is $350,000.
A Municipal Resources Inc. study of the department’s operations conducted earlier this year led to an endorsement by MRI to renovate the station. The station was built in 1980 using $150,000 of taxpayer money and was last renovated in 1992, with those costs covered by volunteer labor and Fire Department Association funds. The study said the renovation project “needs to be funded and completed, as the need has been outlined, and the costs will only increase each year it is not done.”
Speaking about the timeline for completion, Bates said “it’s getting there, but it won’t be until after the end of 2026.”
He stressed that he hoped residents would support the project. “Not everyone is willing to get up at 2:30 a.m. to answer a call and put out their neighbor’s fire,” he added. “The least we can do is provide these guys with a suitable place to work.”
At its Dec. 15 meeting, Select Board members expressed concern about the potential expense over the next six years of replacing equipment. According to the Hancock Capital Improvements Program Committee, the department is expecting $1.8 million in expenses toward replacing fire engines and equipment between now and 2032. Combined with the $1.3 million renovation project, the department is looking at $3.1 million of expenses.
In addressing this concern, Second Assistant Chief Paul Towers said, “the $3.1 million is more like $1.25 million” for taxpayers since the $400,000 cost to buy a rescue vehicle will be paid for by the Hancock Fire Department Association. He hopes taxpayers will cover no more than the remaining $900,000 for Tanker 1, Tanker 2 and $350,000 of the renovation costs.
Donations can be made through the Hancock Fire Department Association. For more information on the project, go to the Hancock Fire Department section of the town website: hancocknh.org/departments/fire_department/case_for_support_-_hancock_fire_station_renovations.php