PHOTO / COURTESY ONYX OWL
In Limerick, Fire Chief Vincent Pelletier spoke at the “Hose Uncoupling.”
Updated: August 12, 2024
Across Maine, newly built fire stations are spreading like wildfire
Photo / Courtesy, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins cuts the ribbon recently on the new fire station in Corinna.
Stuck with old facilities and limited space for modern trucks and equipment, towns across Maine are constructing new fire stations that include larger bays, offices for interagency operations and updated equipment.
Last year, voters in Auburn approved an initiative to build a new public safety building at a cost of as much as $45 million. The building will replace the Auburn Central Fire Station and will include the headquarters for both the city’s police department and fire department
City officials have said the need for a new public safety building is critical due to issues such as accessibility, gender accommodations, space constraints, lack of storage and life-health issues for first responders.
The Central Fire Station was built in 1972 and was considered cutting-edge at the time.
The town of Brunswick completed construction of its new fire station last year. The $9.3 million project covers 26,220 square feet at ground level with a 1,793-square-foot mezzanine, according to Bangor-based architect WBRC Inc.
The facility has seven drive-through vehicle bays along with working and living spaces for Brunswick’s 40-member fire and EMS team.
There’s a fitness room, bunk rooms, space for rescue training, a kitchen with adjacent day room, gender-neutral bathrooms, showers, lockers and laundry facilities; an administrative wing, a training/meeting room with kitchenette, conference room, radio room and space for storage, maintenance support, data and mechanical systems.
It’s roughly triple the size of the vintage station it replaced, which dates back to horse-drawn tankers.
‘Hose uncoupling’
In York County, the Limerick Fire and EMS Department recently hosted a “Hose Uncoupling” — or ribbon-cutting — ceremony for its $4.75 million fire and emergency medical services station. It will serve Limerick and several smaller communities, including Cornish and Limington.
The facility, built by Great Falls Construction of Gorham, is at 23 School St. Construction began in April 2023 and concluded 14 months later. The cost was funded by the town along with $1.8 million in congressionally directed spending, secured by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, through the FY 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.
Ribbon-breaking twist
The town of Sebago, its fire and emergency medical services department, and Great Falls Construction recently cut the ribbon on the town’s new fire apparatus storage building at 7 Pit Road.
The department had a new twist on the ceremony — backing fire trucks into their bays and breaking the ribbon. About 40 people attended the event.
The building came after the town spent years coming up with a long-term plan for a fire station.
Photo / Courtesy Great Falls Construction
The department “cut the ribbon” by backing the fire trucks into their bays and breaking the ribbon.
The stand-alone, metal-framed building is roughly 4,900 square feet and has three bays for emergency engines and one additional bay for utility emergency response equipment use and storage.
The building also features a modern decontamination room for personnel to clean equipment regularly and mezzanine area for storage.
In early 2022, the design/build team led by Great Falls was selected in response to the request for proposals published by the town.
Photo / Courtesy Great Falls Construction
Sebago’s station has three bays for emergency engines and one bay for utility emergency response equipment use and storage.
The team also included civil engineering firm Sebago Technics of South Portland, architectural firm Grant Hays Associates of Falmouth and structural engineering firm Structural Integrity of Portland.
The team met, planned and coordinated with the town over the course of two years to get the project started in February and completed less than six months later.
Sideways truck fit
A year after breaking ground on the project, the town of Corinna completed construction of its new fire station.
The former fire station was built in 1952. It had room for three trucks, two small offices and minimal storage. Not only was it too small to accommodate modern equipment, but the old structure had also sustained water damage and deterioration, according to a news release.
Chief Alan Emerson recalled that in the old station, one of the trucks would only fit into the station sideways, squeezed into the very back. New trucks wouldn’t fit in the old station because the doors were too low. The space was so crowded that the firefighters struggled to find space to grab their gear and suit up when responding to emergencies. The roof and walls leaked, and the sewage line regularly malfunctioned.
Room to expand
The new facility has multiple storage bays to accommodate equipment such as pumper, tanker and forestry trucks, plus specialized equipment such as an all-terrain vehicle and future rescue boat.
The station includes office space for the fire department officers as well as state police and sheriffs who need to conduct work. The department’s emergency medical technicians have work and storage areas. The station has ample space with room for future needs.
Photo / Courtesy USDA Rural Development
The facility has multiple storage bays to accommodate equipment such as pumper, tanker and forestry trucks, plus specialized equipment such as an all-terrain vehicle and future rescue boat.
Thanks to a grant from sandwich franchise Firehouse Subs, one upcoming addition to the department’s equipment will be a new side-by-side for year-round use. Firefighters will use it to fight grass and forest fires and for recreational rescues, such as snowmobile, ATV and hunting accidents.
The new facility will allow the department to expand its services. A goal is to be licensed by the state as an emergency medical service provider.
A remaining priority for the Corinna Fire Department is the acquisition of a 14- to 16-foot boat with a motor and trailer for water-based rescues. With multiple popular lakes and ponds in its service area, the department has an increasing need for water access and looking for funding to purchase used equipment.
The Corinna Fire Department covers Exeter and has mutual aid agreements with Dexter, Newport, Garland, Corinth, St. Albans, Hartland and Levant. Like other rural towns, the department responds to fires further away as needed.
With help from volunteers, the 25-member, all-volunteer department moved into the station in late July.
The station was funded primarily through a $1.7 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development community facilities grant awarded in fiscal year 2022 through the congressionally designated spending process.
Collins and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, supported the congressionally directed spending for the project, and Collins secured the funding in the appropriations bill.
“Corinna’s new fire station will help ensure their brave firefighters are equipped to effectively serve multiple rural communities in Penobscot County,” said Collins.
To celebrate completion of Fire Station No. 35, the town welcomed guests and residents to a ribbon-cutting. The program included the raising of the U.S. flag and singing of the national anthem led by American Legion Post No, 73, remarks from Town Manager Lois Jones, Fire Chief Alan Emerson, Collins and USDA Rural Development State Director Rhiannon Hampson.
The Freemasons’ Parian Lodge No. 160 of Corinna set the cornerstone.
Critical value
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture may be a federal agency, but here in Maine, our Rural Development staff live in communities just like Corinna,” said Hampson, “We understand the critical value of local fire stations. We know how important it is to ensure fire department staff and volunteers have a safe, comfortable place to gather, work and train.”
She continued, “I live in Thomaston, and I have staff across the state in communities like Newport, Winterport, Indian Island, Presque Isle and Lewiston. We are all glad to help bring federal dollars home to Maine to support projects such as this.”
The USDA has funded many new fire stations around the state in the last few years, she said. They include:
- Bradford: Recipient of a $1.387 million community facilities grant, $463,000 commercially funded. Construction is complete. Services 1,290 local residents.
- Greenville: Recipient of a $902,000 community facilities grant, $5.6 million bonded. The original station was built in 1963. Construction of the new public safety building — to house the fire department, police department and a community meeting room — is nearly complete. Services 8,945 local residents.
- Newburgh: Recipient of $1 million community facilities grant, $327,000 in other funds applied. The original station was over 50 years old. Construction of the new station is complete. Services 1,551 local residents.
- Plymouth: Recipient of $800,000 community facilities grant, $852,000 commercially funded. The original structure was built in 1972. Construction of the new station is complete. Services 1,380 local residents.
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