New fire stations under study

Concord Township Fire Chief Matthew Sabo believes keeping the township’s firefighters safe is key to the department keeping the residents safe.

This is one of the reasons the chief and township administrators are looking at building two new fire stations.

The two firehouses currently in the township were both built back in the mid-1960s with the intent to have a life span of 50 years. Station 1 was originally built as the community center and is located at 11600 Concord Hambden Road and Station 2 is located at 10154 Prouty Road.

Both buildings have undergone some renovations and updates but not enough to meet the growing needs of a growing township, larger fire trucks and increased staffing, the chief says.

Due to the size of the stations and the stations’ doors, when the fire department purchases a new fire truck they have to spend more to have one custommade to fit the space they have. The 12-foot bay doors do not allow for a standard 14-foot fire truck.

In 2017, the township reached out to the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association requesting they do a feasibility study to see if there was a way to make the two stations fit the fire program the township has, Sabo said.

The association decided both stations have exceeded their life span and are not up to code. They also concluded that it would be a considerable expense to the township to upgrade the two structures, and that it still wouldn’t help them reach the goal of reducing response times and providing a safe and living and working environment for the firefighters.

The recommendation was for the township to consider building new stations, according to Sabo.

“Fire stations are very unique because it’s not just a storage building, it’s not just a business office. We have three occupancies under one roof,” he said. “We have a business section. We have the administrative office. We have a residential aspect where the firefighters live and we have the storage issue where the trucks are.”

Sabo’s concern is that gear is being stored in the bay, exposed to the diesel exhaust. This puts the firefighters at risk of exposure to carcinogens.

There have been some improvements made in recent years to the stations with the help of grant money. In 2016, a direct source capture ventilation system was added to the bay area for some of the vehicles so the diesel is expelled directly outside.

“That has made a significant improvement in our living environment, for the health and safety of our firefighters,” Sabo said.

The station also used a Bureau of Workers Compensation grant to purchase a geared laundry system and extractor.

“So all those are steps that we are taking are to improve the health and safety of our firefighters,” Sabo said.

Now the township is looking to do more.

It has selected a firm, LeMay Erickson Willcox out of Virginia, to be the principal architect. Concord Fire administration met with the firm last week to discuss the fire program and space requirements and establish a plan for the department’s future.

One of the issues faced by the department which can result in delayed response times is the stations not being large enough to house all the equipment and response vehicles.

A backup ambulance is currently being stored in the service garage. Getting to that ambulance involves going through a gate and a locked door into another garage. The stored ambulance is not the primary one the stations uses but they have been using it more and more.

A John Deere Gator with a skid for patient extraction is also stored off site.

“We just don’t have the space to store the equipment that we have had to add to our complement over the years to meet the demands of the community,” Sabo said. “So the idea is to first make sure we can get all this equipment under one roof and to provide a safe environment for our firefighters and the community.”

“I want to make sure that everyone gets to go home. That’s my job and if we can change the environment to meet that goal that is what I’m going to do,” he said. “I want these people to retire to healthy retirement.”

The new stations would include ventilation systems and decontamination areas for firefighters and their gear to avoid the risk of carrying carcinogens into the living areas.

Another concern of Sabo’s is that the firefighters at Station 1 live on the second floor which means they have to go down the stairs to get to the bay. His goal is to put them all on the same floor to make it more efficient for them to get to the trucks safely.

In addition to the physical safety of the firefighters, Sabo is looking out for their mental health.

“The design of the station has a lot to do with mental health. It’s not just the colors used and that stuff but these guys don’t have anywhere to go to decompress. There’s nowhere to go just to get away,” he said.

Sabo said they are being very deliberate as they move forward with this project. He doesn’t want anyone to get sticker shock or a premature picture of what this would look like.

The project is only in the first phase of just finding potential for the project so they can develop a budget. This could take 10 to 12 months. Cost or the funding source for it is not known at this time.

“This is a deliberate slow process because we only get one shot at this and we are going to make sure it is done right for the firefighters, the staff and the community,” Sabo said.

“We are not rushing through this. I started researching back in 2016 what was involved in remodeling or replacing a firehouse and what steps need to be taken.

“Here we are coming into 2019 and just starting with the very early stages of planning this,” he added. “Three years to get this far shows that we are committed to making sure that whatever we do is right for the community.”