The state says the Kingston and Windham Fire Stations reported elevated levels of PFCs, or perflourinated chemicals, in their well water. Elevated levels were also found in monitoring wells at the Franklin Fire Department and the former fire station at New Boston Air Base.  

Those findings come from the 12 departments that have sent test results to the Department of Environmental Services so far, with more expected.

PFCs are found in many man-made substances, including some firefighting foams that can run off into private wells. Some studies have linked PFCs to cancer and other health problems.

The new $1.8 million station is expected to be finished in mid-May, but construction has been continuing on schedule and could finish sooner, said Dan Brooks, chief of the Winthrop Fire Department, during a tour of the site Tuesday. So far, a wooden shell of the four-bay station has been raised, with a tower that will be used to dry hoses and train firefighters rising prominently above its roof. On Tuesday, workers were beginning to wire the two-story building for electricity. By January, they hope to install insulation and have a propane heating system running in some of the interior spaces, Brooks said.