The new $7.7 million, 20-600-square-foot fire station is essentially finished, Ambriscoe said. "We've already started moving in," Ambriscoe said, but the building still lacks a certificate of occupancy, which it cannot obtain until the state certifies that it has inspected the building's elevator. That inspection would have occurred many weeks ago except that the elevator's emergency telephone was not in service.

More importantly, Verizon workers have not been available to connect the 911 lines to the station's dispatch center. Earlier in the strike, a small group of non-union Verizon workers brought the telephone connection from the street into the building, but it has not yet been connected to the 911 consoles or the building's regular telephone system.

"It's in the building. Now we just need someone to hook it up," Ambriscoe said. Verizon workers are the only ones who can connect the 911 system, the chief added.

In the interest of allowing the open house to go forward, the town had Comcast install an emergency telephone line for the elevator that uses the building's high-speed internet connection.

"The old fire station, as you can see it hasn't changed much since it was built in 1897. It's certainly served the community well, but it has long past met our needs. We are currently working out of three different buildings in two geographic locations, and this project for a new fire station has been in the making for 14 years now," said Bristol Fire Chief Brent LaRose.

Chief LaRose hopes to create a museum area inside the new building as a nod to the Department's history. He says much of the new furniture has been donated and fundraised by the community. Firefighters should be all moved in by the end of June.

Union President Will Maher says, "I do believe there is a window of opportunity to keep the building open. I'm encouraged by the fact that money was put into the budget, which will give us a little more time to maintain the building and deal with the city and try to come up with a solution that's amicable to everybody."

But, Mayor Grebien says he is looking for $1.8 million in concessions to offset the cost of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant Pawtucket isn't receiving this year.

All students from grades one to four could submit names. The fire department received nearly