Urgent work at firehouse would cost $2M
Midtown building needs total of almost $4 million worth of improvements
City officials released a report last month that detailed about $3.8 million worth of improvement work needed at the Central Fire Station in on East O’Reilly Street.
The report, by Latham-based consulting firm C.T. Male Associates, outlined significant repairs that are needed as well as work that should be done to bring the Midtown building up to code.
But more recently, a new document has been created by C.T. Male that breaks the initial report into high-, mediumand low-priority needs in the 110-year-old structure.
The high-priority work alone would cost less than everything suggested in the initial report, but still in the neighborhood of $2 million — more than half of C.T. Male’s total estimate of $3,796,868.
The C.T. Male reports came on the heels of one prepared by Peak Engineering that said reinforcements to the firehouse’s concrete floor, where fire trucks are parked, had deteriorated significantly.
Inside the building, cracks where moisture seeps can been seen throughout the floor, causing continued damaged to the steel reinforcements. From the
basement, deterioration is visible on the floor’s underside.
The Peak report said a section of the slab concrete was “saw cut and chipped out,” revealing that some steel was missing.
“During the course of the concrete chipping, it was noted that there were significant voids between aggregates due to water infiltration, and the concrete’s resistance to chipping was markedly low,” the report stated. “With the reinforcing bars revealed, it could be seen that the steel had undergone significant section loss . ...
“This investigation revealed a unique reinforcement layout that is not consistent with conventional practices,” the report stated.
The Peak report said the deficiencies “were observed away from apparatus bays, in a location not subject to periodic wash-downs.” It added, though, that there probably has been significant loss of steel throughout the floor.
The floor where the trucks are parked was cited in original C.T. Male report and was deemed a “high priority” in the follow-up document. C.T. Male and city officials have estimated the floor project alone — which would require demolition and replacement — would cost about $860,000.
Work classified as being of “medium priority” would cost about $1.65 million, while “low priority” work would cost about $719,000.
The Central Fire Station also is to undergo asbestos removal, which is not included in the C.T. Male reports.
Syracuse-based NRC Inc. was awarded the asbestos-removal contract in an April 3 coin toss at City Hall, necessary because NRC and Sauquoit, N.Y-based Sullivan Contracting submitted identical $42,000 bids for the work.
Kingston Fire Chief Mark Brown has said he has yet to decide on any of the recommended repairs at the fire station. But he has said all options, including the possibility of building a new main firehouse, are up for discussion.
It will be up to the Common Council and Mayor Steve Noble to make a final determination.
The Central Fire Station, a block and a half from Broadway and adjacent to the city’s Department of Public Works building, was built in 1907 and 1908.