The Deep River Fire Department will be asking voters once again to consider an expansion of its firehouse at the corner of Union and Elm streets and will discuss its latest plans at a special public hearing Thursday,

April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

The department has been talking with both the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance over the past several months as it tries to settle on a building design that will provide for future needs and keep costs reasonable.

In 2007, the fire department proposed a

$3.8 million addition to the firehouse. It was defeated at a referendum by a more than three-to-one margin. The department has gone back to the drawing boards and now is moving forward with a different proposal.

Assistant Fire Chief Bob Raymond, in unveiling a proposed designed to the selectmen and finance boards two months ago, said, "The original design would have converted the firehouse to a two-story structure with considerable room for future expansion."

The department's study in 2007 had shown that the firehouse, built in 1961, had another 50 years of usable life.

"Based on that, we recommended an expansion that we thought would meet department needs for 50 years," Raymond said. "Voters thought otherwise and I fully understand that point of view."

The department, however, continues to need additional space.

The department has considered plans that "crammed in the absolute, bare essentials into the first floor," Raymond said, but added, "If we have to expand again, I don't know what will happen."

Shortly after considering those plans, the department asked the finance board for additional time to go back to the architect and rework the proposal.

The department has said it needs sufficient office space for the chief and assistant chief, as well as a communications/radio room. There is also a need for a larger kitchen, a meeting room, and some small storage space. Most important for the department is the size of the training room.

"That is key for us," Raymond has said.

The department will explain its plans, the need for both present and future space, and the estimated costs at the April 29 hearing. Previous plans have called for the Union Street side of the present building to be "bumped out" 10 feet. The department used its own funds to purchase the house and property immediately to the south of the firehouse along Union Street. Earlier expansion proposals called for the house to be razed in order to provide needed parking.