Here’s the down and dirty on Branford’s main Fire Department headquarters: It is in deplorable condition.
It turns out the building has so many violations it is operating outside the law. The pipes from the boiler are corroded. (Photo left)
“Is this building up to code?” the Eagle asked Fire Chief Jack Ahern.
“Not at all,” was his response.
The Eagle took a tour of the 45-year-old building a couple of weeks ago. We tagged along with a group of RTM members invited by Chief Ahern and his top staff.In 1963, when the North Main Street fire station was built, there were 400 responses; last year there were 5,000 responses, including all ambulance calls. Branford’s population is nearing 30,000 residents.RTM members left shaking their heads in collective disbelief that the town’s firefighters and their commanders were working and living in such a decrepit place, especially since a plan to get a new building has been discussed by town fathers for the past twenty years. This is the major firehouse in Branford.Here are a few snapshots:
—-The fire trucks and ambulances are so close together (left) that firefighters lose precious time trying to maneuver through an obstacle course to get to their vehicle, either a fire truck or an ambulance. 
— — Sewer gas comes through the floor drains in bathrooms and garage. — — The diesel exhaust system has not worked since it was installed 13 years ago. — — —-The combination of no roof insulation and an antiquated furnace has produced the highest oil bill for a public building in town. From July 1 to February 4, a short six months, the bill came to $17, 869.52 
—-The ceiling has collapsed in the computer room because the flat roof leaks, causing water damage to computer servers.There is mold. There are termites. As for space, well, there is none for volunteer firemen, for female firefighters or just to hold a meeting. Everyone and everything is doubled and tripled up.The building, constructed in 1963, is the oldest municipal building in town never to have undergone a major renovation or expansion. When the EMS ambulance services became part of the Fire Department’s operation in 1993, and the building’s function expanded exponentially, nothing was done.“Last year we returned $1,144.952 in ambulance revenues to the town’s general fund,” Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Shaun Heffernan told the Eagle. “If we kept our revenues for five years we would probably be able to build our own building.”The town’s motto to the Fire Department appears to have been “wait your turn.” Over the years, the Fire Department has received tax dollars, especially to fix the antiquated boiler. But somehow the funds went for other fire needs and not the boiler.After Town Hall, the Police Department and the Blackstone Library were renovated, the Fire Department was next on Unk DaRos’s list. But he left office in 2003. When he returned to office four months ago he set out to get a new fire headquarters. To DaRos it was a no-brainer. Regardless of what happens with the Tabor $12.4 million verdict and its appeal, DaRos believes the town must move forward, undertaking two major capital projects, a new firehouse and a new public works building, to cost a combined $17 million. DaRos wants to move public works to the Tabor site and to build a new and expanded fire headquarters on its current site in the heart of town. A Master plan has been unveiled. A 1999 feasibility study concluded that if one department were to leave the North Main Street site and locate elsewhere it should be public works.But a number of Republicans, led by Minority Leader Frank Twohill say: Whoa! Let’s think about this.Concerned about mounting costs, Twohill suggested a band-aid approach, perhaps add that second floor to the fire house that was never built, or stretch the fire department to meet the public works facility or fix the roof and get a new boiler.Republican RTM member Jay Bodner said after he viewed the building: “I have never in my life physically seen any building in such disrepair, and with such inadequacies for the people it is supposed to support. The building is an embarrassment to the town of Branford…more importantly it is inadequate and unhealthy for our Branford firefighters.”Nonetheless, a new set of schematic drawings for the new fire department building, presented to the RTM and earlier to its committees by Town Engineer Janice Plaziak, became a symbol of Republican discontent.The result was an hour-long political debate between Democrats and Republicans at the RTM meeting last week over the speed of the project and whether the town has the money to go forward. The Republicans knew they could not win; they hold only 9 of the 30 RTM votes. What they wanted to do was to take a stand, to make a plea to slow things down. 
Rep. Richard K. Greenalch, Jr., a lawyer, (left) led the Republican’s argument: “It is premature to spend the money at this time. We just started testing the soil at Tabor to make sure it is safe for the public works building. Why not wait until we get that information. I think we should go slow or a little bit slower on all this.”While Greenalch agreed a new fire headquarters was crucial, he maintained the time was not quite right. First, he said, the Tabor outcome was still uncertain, the tests on the Tabor land were as yet incomplete and the question of how the town was going to pay for all this was wide-open.Perhaps the public works building should not go on the Tabor site, Dennis Flanagan, the Republic clerk said. “The environmental impact study will be done in the next 60 – 90 days. Let’s wait for it and find out what we’ve got down there.”Twohill’s concern is the speed with which the First Selectman is moving. He said he was concerned about those costs as well as the Tabor verdict that could reach $20 plus million with additional costs for the land and the lawyers.DaRos said many good questions had been raised. He said he hoped public works would be built on the Tabor site, but if it is not, “we are not going to have contaminated land. Tabor has to be cleaned up whether we build there or not.”“We need answers,” Plaziak agreed, particularly regarding the feasibility of the Tabor site. “We need answers, I agree.”But the town also needs a new firehouse and the Democrats pressed for that. The schematic drawings are essential to start state and federal funding processes. In the end the RTM, by a vote of 19 in favor, five against and two abstentions allocated $120,000 for the new drawings. ####