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06/29/2023 07:49 AMWith a future goal to add a firehouse to the eastern end of town, Branford’s Board of Fire Commissioners’ recommendation to earmark town property at 32 Acorn Road has received support from the Board of Selectmen (BOS), but First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove emphasized this is a concept that’s only in the very beginning stages.
“Just for the public’s benefit, I want to be clear it’s not a project at this point that’s been funded nor designed, besides conceptual design,” said Cosgrove. “The chief and the commission, through their analysis, have determined that this would be an appropriate location if the Town was to proceed with a new fire station to serve the east end of town, which is something that certainly has been discussed in the past and evaluated. The commission and the chief don’t want to see a lost opportunity.”
On June 21, Branford’s three-person BOS voted unanimously to support the fire commission’s recommendation to earmark the land for future use. The fire commission sought support from the BOS, allowing
32 Acorn Road to be designated as a Town-owned site which could support the construction of a future firehouse, instead of the Town possibly divesting the property. To proceed further, the project would require many other steps, including going before the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) to request approval for the use of the town land.
At the June 21 BOS meeting, Branford Fire Chief Thomas Mahoney discussed the commission’s assessment of the potential for the property as part of the commission’s goal to strengthen fire response support in the eastern end of town.
Currently a vacant lot, the former commercially-operated property was received by the Town a number of years ago in foreclosure. Cosgrove said a DEEP process was undertaken to remediate environmental issues found at the site; and that the Town recently received notice that “...the site is now clean.”
Conceptual, preliminary drawings support the property as a good fit for a firehouse that would meet the department’s needs for the future, as did computer modeling undertaken based on road speeds and other required standards, Mahoney said.
The conceptual drawings for a future station are similar in scope to the two-bay firehouse constructed for Indian Neck/Pine Orchard Volunteer Fire Company 9, said Mahoney.
Selectman Ray Dunbar (D) said he supported the request of the commission but felt the RTM should become involved as soon as possible.
“I’m 100% for it. The chief knows that,” said Dunbar. “It’s been needed for over 40 years. I just think to make sure the chief doesn’t put a lot of work into it... pass it on to the RTM, let them start the long process that I’m sure they’re going to approve because they have to approve the land; to give the chief more backing when he has to go forward.”
In support of the commission’s request, Fire Commission chair Robert Massey Jr. submitted a letter to the BOS. On June 21, selectwoman Angela Higgins emphasized a portion of Massey’s letter, reading, “...response times to the east side of town are already unacceptably long. Recent and planned development, coupled with increased call volume and unreliable response from the district volunteer stations, make it imperative that we begin a process of adding and staffing additional stations.”
Branford Fire Department strives for a four-minute response time from station to incident, according to minutes of the May 2023 fire commission meeting.
While noting support from the BOS on June 21 was “only the beginning” of the process, Higgins said, “...there seems to be a dire need in that part of town that hopefully, as we go forward, we’ll be able to help.”
Cosgrove noted that fire department staffing needs were reviewed as part of the 2023-’24 town budget and will be addressed.
“Staffing needs are something the chief brought up through the budget process,” Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove said an upcoming presentation was expected to allow the Board of Finance and RTM to implement a strategy to meet the staffing needs of the fire department.