In 2017, Billerica Housing Authority Executive Director Bob Correnti proposed the town transform the old school building into a 50 or 60-unit housing development. Correnti estimated the construction timeline would be somewhere between two and three years for completion and would cost approximately $16 million to the developer.

One lieutenant and three firefighters will man the station at all times, along with at least one paramedic, the district said. A brand-new, custom-made 107-foot-long ladder truck made in Wisconsin will also call the station home. The vehicle, costing more than $1 million after being fully stocked, will have pump capabilities as well as a full suite of medical equipment and drugs, the district said.

Santone would like to move the four remaining 2003 front-line rigs to second-line vehicles, joining one 2003 engine and the 2003 tower truck as reserve rigs. He also would like to replace the bureau’s front-line tower, a 1999 KME, and its front-line rescue pumper at Engine Co. 6, a 2000 KME, with new trucks.

The fire engine was donated to Whale Pass by the Hollis Fire Department several years ago. Huestis said it is available for free to any city or organization on POW, or elsewhere, if someone is willing to pay shipping. He said the 26-foot truck was built in the 1970s and was little used.

“It’s diesel. It’s been stored under cover, in the dry, for as long as we’ve had it, and I’m sure for as long as Hollis Fire Department had it,” he said. “So it’s in really good shape and it has a lot of neat features to it. It’s got a water cannon. I’m not sure if that’s something that most people in remote Alaska would use, but it’s a neat little feature.”

Huestis said the Whale Pass Volunteer Fire Department has two smaller fire trucks that serve the community. He said there are very few fires, but fires do happen. Huestis said Whale Pass has a population of about 90, with houses spread out over four miles.