Updated: 04/02/2016 9:45 PM Taylor Holt Created: 04/02/2016 5:03 PM "We've operated out of the new fire station for approximately 94 days. I'm delighted to share with you some of the positive comments from staff," said Ashland Fire Chief, Wayne Chenier as he spoke the more than 100 people who showed up for the new fire station's open house.
The years of planning have finally paid off for the Ashland Fire Department as they opened the doors of their new firehouse to the community.
"Firefighters and law enforcement is something the community does need to support because they are serving us so we need to support them," said Sarah Grubisic, a resident of Ashland.
The open house showcased the three million dollar facility, which was a big change from their previous location of more than 90 years.
"Our previous kitchen was a third of the size of this new one. We had 5 to 8 people in the cramped little corridors and now we can move about the day without tapping each other. From an operational stand point, having all our apparatuses under one roof has significantly improved our city's ability to deliver emergency services," said Captain Christopher Bulouvsky with the Ashland Fire Department.
Retired Ashland fireman, James Thompson, says things have only gotten better since his time working for the department.
"The main thing is they have access to equipment. They have a ton of more equipment than we ever had. We had three trucks and you look out here, they have nine bays and there's something in every bay," he said.
The department says although this is a big improvement for them, this wouldn't be possible without the continuous support of the community.
"The community's always been there behind us for many, many years. City surveys throughout my tenure here suggested we had a great deal of community support and this open house illustrates that," said Bulouvsky.
Posted: Apr 4, 2016
AUGUSTA - Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said the department has gotten a lot of bang for its buck at the 96-year-old Hartford Fire Station. But more bucks are what it will take to make sure the station is operational for years to come.
During a tour of the structure Friday morning, Audette outlined plans to shore up the garage flooring of the station and in 2018 to expand the facility to accommodate larger fire equipment.
The chief said that after inspections in 2013, an engineer recommended the department fix the cracks in the floor, and the city budgeted $60,000 to complete the work. But in a series of meetings several weeks ago, the same engineer recommended that plan wouldn’t make the floor strong enough to hold fire engines.
“We have asked her to come up with a plan to shore up the floor so we can bring the fire engine back (from the Western Avenue station),” Audette said. “We want to get that work done within the next six to 10 weeks.”
The floor has several cracks in its foundation because of constant exposure to water, and the basement space below, used for storage, training and fitness, is only accessible when there are no vehicles in the garage above. The basement weight room, which has more equipment than the average local gym, can be used only during specific hours when there are no vehicles parked above the people working out.
Audette said the plan is to relocate the storage and fill and close the basement, because it doesn’t make sense to have a basement under apparatus-bay floors.
“Water is the enemy of every building,” Audette said. “We’ve done a great job getting it where it is, but it’s time to fix it.”
Audette admits that shoring up the floor would be a temporary fix, but he looked ahead to the bigger expansion project as a way to save money while updating the facility.
“We want to shore it up now, and then after we decide about the addition, we will do it all,” Audette said. “We’ll save money because the workers will already be here.”
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Posted: Apr 4, 2016
In this 1953 Press Herald news photograph, firefighters pose with Engine 8 in front of the Central Fire Station on Congress Street in downtown Portland. The same building still serves as the city's fire department headquarters, as seen below in a January 2013 photograph.
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Posted: Apr 4, 2016
Brian Lieberg has never forgotten the night his father survived a bad car accident. He was freed from the wreckage of a mangled vehicle by volunteers from the Royalton Township Fire Department.
Now a volunteer for that same department, Lieberg, a lieutenant, rarely misses a fire call or a training session. Every call, he reminds himself, involves someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter.
Lieberg, 47, of St. Joseph is director of surveying at Wightman & Associates, based in Benton Township. He credits his employer for letting him leave work to answer fire calls during the day, a time when when most fire departments struggle to get enough responders.
Lieberg recently was chosen by his peers to be the Royalton Township Fire Department’s firefighter of the year. Herald-Palladium Staff Writer Julie Swidwa caught up with Lieberg at the fire station on East John Beers Road.
How much time do you devote to this?
As a lieutenant now, I would say I average four to six hours a week. There’s a certain amount of mandatory training to keep up with your certifications. We also have a department policy that we want to respond to a certain percentage of the calls. It’s part of my service.
I volunteer to do this, so when I get a call I treat it as if it were my own house, and I respond to the calls.
It helps that I have an employer that will let me leave for calls during the day. That’s nice from an employee perspective that they respect the community enough to allow us to leave. Some guys have jobs that are outside the area, or their employers won’t let them leave to go to calls. I have a pager, and if I get a call while I’m at work I can get up, get in my car, leave, drive here and get on a truck and help out.
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