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Hayden Station Firehouse on November Ballot
JOHN KARAS, THE WINDSOR JOURNAL

Apparently the people who design modern fire apparatus don’t have tape measures.

If they did, they might realize the state-of-the-art towers, pumpers, firetrucks and other equipment essential to protecting lives and property have one major drawback: They don’t fit into many of America’s older fire stations.

That might be just as well as most older fire stations lack the air-handling equipment for exhaust, are riddled with asbestos and date back to a day when, well, there were all firemen and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act rules didn’t exist.

As Bob Dylan predicted, times they have a-changed. And fire fighting technology, apparatus and personnel – have as well.

Rather than replace outdated fire houses, a more fiscally prudent course is first to determine if renovation is possible, particularly if the building is structurally sound enough to accommodate a heavier, larger fire truck. That includes bringing the outdated structure into compliance, adding storage in many cases for the many newtools of the fire fighters profession - meters, communications gear and safety equipment now considered essential for all.

For Windsor, town officials determined that is a sensible course to take with the Hayden Station Firehouse, and that is why they have recommended renovations to the 40-year-old structure. Voters will be asked to spread the cost out in the form of a $2.8 million bond issue which will be on the municipal ballot November 3rd.

It comes out to less than $15 per year, for the average taxpayer, for the 10, 15 or 20-year bond issue.

“The project will cost roughly $2.8 million and that is about 1/10th of a mil,” calculated Town Manager Peter Souza last week.

And for those who argue that economic times are tough right now, he offered a point of view to counter that argument.

The state of the economy is an advantage, Souza explains. “We're in a good time if voters say ‘yes’ to a bond appropriation. Construction costs are relatively low, so we expect to get very competitive bids. And then, at this point and time, it's forecasted that the interest rates we borrow the money at will be low as well. We based that number on an interest rate of about 4 percent, and right now rates are moving closer to 3 percent, which gives us some flexibility.”

What are you getting for your $15 per year?

It might not look like it from the outside, but the Basswoood Road building built in 1968 has a number of problems. For one, although in sound structural shape, the fire station has outdated mechanical systems which are not as energy efficient as they should be by today's standards. But even more important, the functionality of the station is not up to par.

“We have a major space problem putting apparatus inside the garage area. The trucks that they build today are much higher than they were, and some will not fit in,” notes Windsor Fire Chief Bill Lewis. “We also have no ladies facilities in the station that can provide the right kind of accommodation for female members. We even have a septic problem, and we want to hook up our septic system to the town sewers.”

While these items may not seem too urgent, they have an impact in how fire fighters perform, the Chief points out.

“We are all volunteers. Not a single member is paid,” Lewis said. “There are studies showing that if we can give our members a nice space to spend their time in – and they are there all the time – when there is an alarm they will respond more quickly.”

Demolishing the existing building didn't make sense, Souza says. It has many years of useful life and was well-designed at the time. So the approach is to “recycle” the present station by incorporating it into a new facility. The older side of the structure will serve as meeting and training space for the volunteer firefighters, with the right renovations, and adding three modern firetruck bays is more cost-effective.

The new facility will give Windsor the best of both the old and new - large enough to expand the services it might provide in the future as the town's needs change over time, and able to house today’s much heavier pieces of equipment.

Back in 1968, I-91 through Windsor was a busy highway, but with just two lanes north and south. Forty years later, the highway has evolved into a major New England artery twice as wide, with longer ramps and HOV lanes, all carrying bigger tandem trucks, buses and cars at much faster speeds.

You don’t have to be a fire fighter to realize when things go wrong, a heavy-duty rescue truck with now-essential hydraulic tools in its arsenal is needed when responding to highway motor vehicle accidents.

Souza said that is one of the main reason the town selected the Hayden Station for expansion.

Windsor is also growing, with new commercial buildings and possible residential projects.

“Part of it is that we expect this area of town will develop in the future,” he said, “and part of that is that Hayden station has pretty quick access to the interstate as well as to Route 20. So that station, even though it's the northeast corner of town, is able to reach out to the north-northwest part of town fairly quickly because of the road network.”

Hayden Station Company serves not only to its immediate area but the rest of Windsor too, Chief Lewis added. “When we have structure fires, they respond allover town,” he related.

Souza said for sentimental reasons he has another “vested interest” in the outcome of the November ballot. “That's my father's hat over there,” he said, gesturing to a corner of his office to a well-worn and battered firefighter's helmet. “He started off as a volunteer fire fighter, and then, over time, he was lucky enough to move forward and become a captain.” Volunteer firefighters have been serving Windsor in one form or another since 1830 – although the present company dates “only” to 1908.

Of the proposed firehouse renovation, “it's a good plan” Souza feels. “It takes care of a 40-year-old facility, bringing it up to today's functionality and today's energy-efficiency. And it allows the fire department to have flexibility. Our goal is to keep an-all-volunteer fire department as long as we possibly can in Windsor. By providing quality buildings, quality equipment, quality training and quality resources, we have a better chance of doing this.”