Hartsdale FD To Bring Firehouses Into The 21st Century

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Congrats Hartsdale!!! I better get a tour when you guys are done!! I will be trying to photograph the work as it progresses, and maybe HFD will send in some too.

One question, will the look of Station 1 change, or will the new addition be intergrated? Same question for Station 2 as well...plus where will the addition at Station 2 be placed?

Hartsdale OKs repairs to firehouses

By CANDICE FERRETTE

cferrett@thejournalnews.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

 

 

(Original publication: April 1, 2005)

HARTSDALE — A $7.5 million plan to expand and renovate two firehouses last night was approved in a 133-68 vote.

"I think it's great that the residents of this district supported the firefighters," Fire Commissioner Fred Overing said. "It shows how much they appreciate what these guys do for the community."

Property owners with a Hartsdale ZIP code will see their taxes for fire protection go up $6.90 from $94.21 to $101.11 per $1,000 of assessed value. The increase would be eliminated after the 25-year bond is paid off.

The two firehouses — Station 1 on Central Avenue and Station 2 on Hartsdale Avenue — haven't been renovated since they were built. Station 1 was built in 1926 and Station 2 in 1963. The department consists of 37 paid and 16 volunteer firefighters. At any given time, nine firefighters are on duty between the two stations.

Plans developed by Poughkeepsie-based architects Cerniglia & Swartz include construction of a 300-square-foot addition at Station 1 to create storage, training, living and eating space. The station doors would be widened and areas outside the firehouse reconfigured so trucks can enter the building through a new set of back doors, eliminating the need to back in from Central Avenue, where traffic often gets tied-up.

Station 2 would get an additional 8,230 square feet to enlarge the dispatch area and to significantly increase office, storage, training and living space. It would also allow for inside parking for all of the station's vehicles. The volunteers' meeting room and a popular baby-sitting safety class is expected to move to the Hartsdale Avenue firehouse when the renovations are completed.

Both firehouses will receive upgraded heating, cooling and ventilation systems along with other infrastructure improvements. Work will be done in phases so as not to disrupt fire service and will take two years.

"I don't think they (the firefighters) need a $50 million kitchen, but they definitely need a better place to sleep — it's so crammed up there," said Thomas Riccio after the results were announced at Station 1. Riccio, 73, a resident of Hartsdale for 45 years, strongly agreed that the Fire Department needed to expand and update its facilities.

Hartsdale is the most recent community in the region to upgrade its firehouses. Last year, Rye city voters approved a $2.24 million bond for renovation of the Locust Avenue firehouse. While Armonk opened a new $8 million firehouse last year, North White Plains fire commissioners decided last year to use capital reserves to bring its 1938 facility up to code after voters in 2003 defeated renovation proposals of $2.8 million and $3.5 million.

Project timeline  

The two-year construction project is expected to break ground before the summer, said Robert Broderick, chairman of the Hartsdale Board of Fire Commissioners.  

The project is expected to be completed in three phases

Phase 1: Station 2 to receive a 8,230-square-foot addition.

Phase 2: Station 2 will be renovated. New office, storage, training and living spaces to be added.  

Phase 3: Station 1 to get a 300-square-foot addition and renovations. All operations will be temporarily relocated to Station 2 on Hartsdale Avenue.

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Good Luck to the Harstdale Fire Department. This should greatly improve the Harstdale Fire Department. I have seen the tight quaters in station 1. I hope we will seen a possible Quint or Squad out of Station 1.