Marked progress on new Champlain Fire Station

CHAMPLAIN | Progress on the new Champlain Fire District fire station is well underway, with a goal to have framing done by November. The field near the intersection of Routes 9 and 11 is a busy place. At the project's architectural firm Wiemann Lamphere, President Steve Roy said a lot of preparation was done in the field this summer to facilitate drainage. "We had to raise the site," he said in an interview with The Sun. "The foundation is in, and they are preparing for radiant floor heat." The $6.7 million project was approved by fire district residents in May last year, with the first shovels of dirt turned on May 12 this year. The station was nearly a decade in planning including a delay during pandemic years 2020-22. O'Connor Company, which is based in Pinehurst, NC with satellite offices in Upstate New York, is the general contractor. "They are panellizing the wall framing and will start building the walls at the same time as they start pouring the slab," Roy said. "The goal is to have the building framed by the end of November and most of the first coat of pavement on the lot before December." Roy said residents likely won't see a lot of construction action outside as cold weather sets in. "Work inside will continue through the winter," he added. "We hope to have CFD in the building by June." Champlain Fire District Commissioner Chris Trombley said Niagara Hose Co. No. 1 is excited to have this project underway. "We're encouraged by the recent round of good weather; that's helped us out a lot," Trombley told the Sun. Permitting for power across Route 11 has taken time to put in place, but otherwise the construction start rolled out smoothly. "We have our weekly project meetings every Monday faithfully at 11 a.m.," Trombley said. "Everybody in terms of the general contractor and subcontractors have been really good to work with. We're looking forward to seeing the progress over the next few months." Champlain is an all volunteer fire department serving the township and vital mutual aid support for Clinton County and Canadian communities along the border. Across New York State, volunteer firefighters are available for emergency response 24/7. Combined, their volunteerism saves New York taxpayers over $3.8 billion in salaries and benefits alone, according to research from the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY). If Clinton County switched to all paid firefighters, they would need to hire 431 more fire personnel and taxes would increase 105.1 percent. In FASNY's 2023 report "Tax Savings Generated by New York's Volunteer Fire Service," the data showed: An additional 31,058 career firefighters would be needed to achieve all-paid fire service across the state. The annual cost in NYS for an all-career fire service (salaries, benefits, operating costs and debt service) would be $4.7 billion. In addition, there would be a one-time cost of $8.2 billion to acquire existing stations/structures, vehicles and equipment. Approximately 1,500 fire stations would have to be built new or reconstructed. Property taxes would rise an average 28.4 percent statewide.

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Marked progress on new Champlain Fire Station

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