At the town council meeting on Dec. 18, members of the Londonderry Fire Department gave a presentation for the proposal to renovate and expand the Central Fire Station in town lead by Fire Chief Darren O’Brien.
The station, located at 280 Mammoth Road, has plans for new additions for space and utilities. The apparatus bays (where the firefighting emergency vehicles are stored) will remain the same, but the current living facilities used by the fire fighters will become an additional apparatus bay. The plans ask for new additions to the north and south sides of the building as well. The north side of the building will be one-story that will house the administration department, the dispatch center, and the community training room. The south side of the building will be a two-story operational wing where the fire fighters will be housed. The bottom level of the station will serve as operational needs along with vehicle maintenance, equipment maintenance, and office space. The upstairs level will house the bunk rooms, dormitories, locker rooms, kitchen facility, and dining area for the station.
One of the main goals by renovating the central fire station is to have a fire station that meets the needs of the community and lasts 50-75 years into the future. The estimate for the new central station is currently between 6.4 and 6.9 million dollars. Overall, the amount is above anticipation, but the department is looking to ground down the numbers as best they can. The new proposal is slightly over 21,000 square feet and adds two additional apparatus bays. All of the bay doors will be raised to meet the height needs of the new equipment as well. The two new bays will also be wider as well.
There is no space in this proposal that will go unused; every square inch will be utilized space by the fire department. The site work came in at a cost of over a half million dollars, which was more than the fire department had originally estimated. Central station parking is limited with the space they currently have. The proposal would allow for additional 45-50 parking spots.
Overall, this proposal looks to the future and how the town of Londonderry will grow 15 to 20 years into the future. Additional space will be necessary for the fire department to do their jobs and be able to do them well. There is also room for the other two fire stations in town to have renovations in the future if the need arises. As of today, the fire department feels it is a necessity to build upon the central station to meet the needs of the town going forward. The new designs for the central fire station will be available sometime next week on the fire department’s official website: londonderrynh.org/Pages/LondonderryNH_Fire/Index. Any questions about the proposal can be relayed to Fire Chief Darren O’Brien at 432-1124.