It’s been nearly three years since a feasibility study determined that the town’s fire station, built in 1976, was unsafe, too small, and didn’t meet current codes. The study, by architectural firm Kaestle Boos, concluded that a new, larger station should be built at a different location, for an estimated cost of $17.8 million, not including the cost of purchasing land.
The price tag shocked the Select Board and the Permanent Building Committee, who discussed a downsized version of the plan in March and said the reductions might have gone too far. The PBC asked asked Fire Chief Rick Sicard to get a new estimate for the smaller plan so the town would know the cost of a station that met the bare minimum needs of the department.
While no new estimate has yet surfaced at any board meetings, Sicard now seeks funding to design the new fire station, and he presented his case at the Capital Planning and Investment Committee’s Dec. 8 meeting. He said the building would be located on the town-owned land behind the existing fire station, between the station and Hildreth House. He told members he was still waiting for written quotes, but three years ago when he was interviewing firms for the feasibility study, he was told a full design would cost about $550,000.
When asked why a new station was needed, Sicard said the 46-year-old station doesn’t meet a lot of new safety standards. For instance, firefighting gear is typically sealed in a ventilated room, but in Harvard’s station, firefighters are exposed to that gear every day. “We’re 300 times more likely to get cancer than the general public,” Sicard said, because of carcinogens, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in gear. In addition, space is tight in the building, and equipment is stored in multiple locations, including the old station in Still River. Having everything under one roof would be more efficient and would save money on energy costs and building maintenance, he asserted.
In addition to the station design, the chief is asking for $60,000 to replace his 2018 gas-powered vehicle with a 2023 hybrid vehicle. CPIC member Sharlene Cronin asked why a replacement for a 5-year-old vehicle was necessary. Sicard said the department has two vehicles that it typically replaces every 10 years. The old one is now 10 years old, but it has fewer than 100,000 miles and is still in very good condition. Trading in the newer vehicle will bring the town more money, and the old one will last another five years, he said.
The department also wants $60,000 to replace its 32-year-old self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) compressor, which is used to fill firefighters’ breathing bottles. Sicard said this piece of equipment is necessary when sending firefighters into any hazardous environment, and waiting until it breaks down before replacing it is risky. Last year the town voted about $370,000 to fund the purchase of 36 new SCBA oxygen tanks and respirators. This year’s request would also replace the compressed air storage tanks and the bottle fill station.
Finally, Sicard is asking to replace the fire alarm system in the library, which he said is outdated and difficult to get parts for. When a smoke detector failed earlier this year, he had to turn to eBay to buy a replacement. The alarm system is proprietary, and even replacing a smoke detector requires Siemens to send someone to the library to program it. Sicard hasn’t yet received a quote for the new system, but he said it would not be a proprietary system, making replacement parts and repairs easier to manage.
The committee will make its recommendations on all department requests later this month. Its next meeting was scheduled for Dec. 15 when it was to hear the School Department’s fiscal 2024 requests.
