By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

When Chief Alden Murphy looks around the Saco Central Fire Station, he thinks of the long history of the department, of the generations of sons who followed their fathers into service, of the proud tradition of serving the community.

But when he looks around the station he also sees the crumbling concrete, cramped storage rooms and trucks that barely fit through the doors.

Those deficiencies, Murphy said, are on the long list of reasons why the city needs a new fire station.

On Feb. 9, Saco voters will decide if they favor spending $5.9 million to build a new fire station on city-owned property on North Street. The project would be funded with revenue from the ambulance billing account and debt retirement, resulting in no tax increases, according to city staff.

Deputy Fire Chief John Duross said the need for a new station has been long documented by both city and fire officials. The last three fire chiefs before Murphy advocated for a new station.

A city comprehensive plan from 1978 states, “Not only are they hampered by overcrowding and inadequate facilities, but also by downtown traffic congestion, particularly the fire department. These departments should be established in suitable facilities within close proximity to the downtown business and high-density residential areas.”

Murphy said the department came close to relocating in 1997 when a public safety complex was proposed. Ultimately, a new police station was built on Storer Street and the fire department remained in its 1938 brick building on Thornton Avenue. In 1998, the city purchased a 7-acre parcel of land next to General Dynamics and across North Street from Young School for a future fire station, he said.

Murphy said the city has done “everything possible” to extend the life of the Central Fire Station. The 71-year-old masonry and brickwork is falling apart, the electrical system is inadequate and unsafe, and the building does not meet current Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for employees or the general public, he said.

Additionally, rescue vehicles must maneuver through congested downtown traffic when responding to every call, Murphy said. An open stairwell allows hazardous contaminants to travel to the second floor eating and living spaces, water leaks into the building whenever it rains and the public restroom is a toilet in a closet, he said.

Walking through the fire station, Deputy Chief Ed Dube and Marc Meserve, head of the Friends of the Saco Fire Department, pointed to broken asbestos floor tiles patched with automobile Bondo and stair supports that have separated from the wall. On the second floor, firefighters share a bathroom with one toilet and two showers that have original 1930s plumbing. There are no separate bathroom facilities for female staff members, they said.

One of the biggest issues with the fire station is its size, Duross said, noting fire trucks in the 1930s were about the size of current 1-ton pickup trucks. Fire trucks and ambulances are custom altered by manufacturers to lower ladders and bring in side mirrors to fit in the four-bay doors. Despite removing as much decorative brickwork as possible from around the doors, the trucks have a clearance of a few inches on either side.

Trucks from other departments don’t fit in the building at all and must be left running outside in cold weather so water doesn’t freeze, Duross said.

Murphy said there are safety issues resulting from alterations made to their vehicles. The side mirrors on the vehicles allow drivers to see only part of the length of the vehicle, making driving in reverse tricky, he said. Though his drivers are good at what they do, mirrors are knocked off occasionally and cost about $700 each to fix, he said. 

“We’ve done the absolute best we can with this station,” Murphy said. “It’s pretty much accepted the life of the central station is done.”


Murphy said all of these issues will be resolved if voters approve the new fire station. The proposed 21,660-square-foot station will include a single-story, 8,260-square-foot area with five bay doors for trucks and a two-story, 13,400-square foot area for administration and firefighter living quarters.

The location of the building is closer to the geographic center of the city and will reduce response times to remote areas, resulting in better protection for homes and businesses, Murphy said. Rescue crews also will not have to make their way through downtown traffic unless responding to that area, he said.

The new fire station will have a useful life of at least 70 years and is a “sound investment” for the city’s future, Murphy said. The building will meet all ADA requirements, be better suited to current technology and include “green” elements such as natural light, solar hot water and geothermal heat, he said.

The new location will allow firefighters more space for training activities. They now travel to remote areas to do drills so they don’t disturb neighbors and block traffic.

The new fire station will provide space for separate decontamination areas for equipment, Murphy said. Currently, staff must carry contaminated items through the station to a convert storage area to be decontaminated, which is not the safest practice, he said. A separate area also will be in place for air compressors used to fill oxygen tanks to ensure there is no cross contamination that is harmful to firefighters, he said.

Deputy Chief Duross said now is a good time to move forward with the station because of favorable financial conditions like low bond rates and high availability of contractors and subcontractors. The department last year pursued $5 million in federal grant money designed for fire stations, but despite being “shovel ready,” was turned down, he said.

The city invested $70,000 in the preliminary grant process for the project. The work included preliminary design and groundwork. Murphy said all permits are in place and construction will begin when funding is secured.

When the grant application was rejected, the city began to look at other ways to fund the project. Financial Director Beth Cote said the city will secure a 30-year bond of $5.999 million. At a fixed interest rate of 4 percent, the total cost with interest will be $10.4 million.
“The cost of borrowing is significantly lower than we’ve seen since the 1980s,” Cote said, noting interest rates are expected to rise again by summer.

If the project is approved, the bond payment would be covered by the ambulance billing account, which is comprised of revenue from rescue calls. The fund has averaged $500,000 in past years and is expected to grow above $600,000 annually moving forward, Cote said.

Typically, a portion of the account is transferred to the city’s general fund to cover operating budgets. Last year $300,000 was transferred to the general fund. Remaining money is typically used to buy new equipment.

In addition to ambulance billing funds, the city is scheduled to retire two school bonds in 2011 and 2010. Cote said it is important for the city to have a “fallback” to help ensure taxes won’t go up because of the project.

If voters approve the project, Cote said the city should have the bond money by March or April and construction could begin soon after. This timing allows the city to avoid winter construction costs, which could have added close to $1.5 million to the project, she said.
 “There is a definite imminent need for a new building,” Cote said.

City Councilor Margaret Mills agrees there is an immediate need to build a new fire station.

‘The old station just isn’t supporting the need right now and it hasn’t for several years,” she said.
Mills said firefighters have been creative in how they use their limited space, but recognizes there is little more they can do to make the building meet their needs. A new station would better serve the needs of the community without impacting tax bills, she said.
“I think it’s going to be a good thing for the community,” she said. “What we’re lacking now is a functional fire station.”

Councilor Arthur Tardif said he is opposed to the plan for several reasons. He concedes the department needs more space, “but not anywhere as much as they claim they need,” he said. Fire department vehicles will still encounter traffic on North Street and the council should have spent more time looking at the issue, he said.

Tardif also said “no effort has been made to find out how much is needed to fix the present station if it is in that bad of shape.” Cote disputes Tardif’s assertion, noting a city study showed it would cost upward of $100,000 per square foot to fix some of the building’s problems.

“It was an astronomical number,” she said. “It’s costly for us to stay there.”

Duross and other fire officials say they are worried not enough voters will turn out to vote on the proposal. City Clerk Lucette Pellerin said 1,303 of the city’s 12,500 registered voters must cast a ballot to make it a valid election. As of Tuesday morning, 152 absentee ballots were turned into the clerk’s office.

Pellerin said absent
ee ballots currently are available at the clerk’s office or by calling 284-4831. Ballots will be mailed the same day they are requested.
The city clerk’s office will have extended hours from 9 to 11 a.m. Jan. 30; 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 4; and 9 to 11 a.m. Feb. 6. During those hours, Central Fire Station will be open for public tours. Voting on Feb. 9 will take place at the Saco Community Center on Franklin Street.

More information about the proposed fire station is available at www.sacomaine.org.