Westport Hose Co. #1 moves into new fire station

WESTPORT | Westport Hose Co. #1 is moving into their new fire station. The long-awaited expansion update brings all fire trucks, ambulances and rescue support vehicles under one modern roof with room for indoor vehicle repairs, cleaning and maintenance. The firefighters held their first few meetings at the end of August, even as they moved boxes of equipment, paperwork and all the gear. On Sept. 1, they gathered for evening updates on progress. As they rolled in and parked behind the new fire station, the company seemed both relieved and thrilled to have nearly finished the move. The cramped, antiquated quarters with a storage shed on Champlain Avenue are closed up, mostly empty. The historic fire bell will be moved to the new site and placed on a platform in the front yard. The fire trucks are in their bay and bunker gear line the back wall, all fully operational should the need arise. Fire District Board of Commissioners Chairman Jim Rule said phone lines installed Sept. 1 have the same telephone number. There are two lines and eight phones with fiber optic internet service. Important additions provide fire personnel room to operate with a higher degree of safety and efficiency. Eight bays for trucks and ambulance rigs allow easy entry and a fast exit, with parking for firefighters in the back lot. This means that trucks leaving will not have to navigate one 500-square-foot area of crews coming and going at the same time. Truck bays are spaced to code with walkways marked between vehicles, allowing personnel room to simultaneously get in or get out of vehicles parked side-by-side. This was not possible in the old station. In the new fire station, the laundry room is still being put together, but it will provide a contained place to decontaminate and wash bunker gear, meaning firefighters will not have to carry potentially hazardous grime into their personal vehicles or to other firehouses to wash. There is a shower and a hazardous materials flush station at the new fire station in Westport. There is a radio room in the front corner of the station headquarters with monitors and equipment to open each bay door with both line-of-sight on activity and lights to indicate which bays are vacant. "The radios are being moved in next week," Rule said on Sept. 1. The new kitchen/meeting area provides the all-volunteer fire company with adequate space to meet and for training. No longer will personnel have to sit on the stairway or push against walls around a room in meetings. "We can't use the kitchen for community gatherings," Rule said, "it's not a commercial kitchen. We went with this option as a cost-saving measure." The space for Westport Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is on the east end of the new building. It too has a meeting/training area and separate bays for both rigs. Westport is currently staffing paid EMT service five days a week. Two new rescue vehicles will arrive this fall to build out the emergency response capacity at Hose Co. #1. The fire commissioners authorized the purchase of a used fire boat with trailer at a cost of $14,000. "We saved over $100,000 by buying a used vessel," Rule said. The boat will prevent the need for use of personal boats in emergency response on Lake Champlain. "It is big enough for what the company does on the lake," Rule said. As a lakeshore town, this will be the first official fireboat in Westport. The new boat will go into one of the bays beside the utility fire vehicle designated to tow it. Hose Co. #1 will also receive a new state-of-the-art fire truck this fall, Rule said. "It has a four-door cab that will hold six people," he said. It provides an important equipment update to #357, a truck purchased new 14 years ago that had to be specially ordered small to fit inside the old station and then its springs lowered again to fit under the garage door. "It will fit," Rule said, and chuckled, when asked of the new truck's larger height and clearance. Westport's new equipment was purchased with savings in a fund set aside for vehicles. "We're benefiting from the former board's (of fire commissioners) forethought," Rule said. It is not the same savings account as was used to pay for the fire station, he said. The fire company is waiting to find out if they won a grant award this year from FEMA for new air packs. But it will all fit as the company looks to the future. Having room for maintenance is essential for keeping new and old equipment in excellent working condition, a provision measured by the home insurance industry that works to keep property insurance costs down. Other measures in construction were utilized for efficiency. The fire station is heated with propane and has a back-up generator, which will be installed the week of Sept. 6. Amid all the gleaming white, fire-engine red and chrome trucks and scuff-free floors sits the first Westport fire truck, a thin-wheeled gas wagon with a hand-pulled bell purchased in 1919. It provides a tangible reminder how far firefighting equipment has come in 100 years. Westport Hose Co. #1 will host an open house for area residents on Oct. 9 from noon until 5 p.m. The all-volunteer fire company appreciates the new facility with important up-to-date improvements that will help them do their jobs. "We are very grateful to the taxpayers for supporting us," Rule said. Taxpayers in Westport approved the project in a referendum vote on Dec. 10, 2019, with 187 yes to 60 no votes. By then, the project had been in planning stages for over a year. The $3.2 million fire station is located off of Route 22 on 5.2 acres. Westport Fire District put $400,000 from their building reserve fund toward the new station, and the taxpayers approved the bond for the remaining $2.8 million.

Signup for our newsletter

Westport Hose Co. #1 moves into new fire station

COMPANY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SUBMISSION FORMS

BEYOND THE NEWS