Editor’s note: This is the final column of a five-part series outlining the four major building projects on the table in Amherst. This column explores the rationale behind a fire station for south of downtown. Previous columns covered an overview of the capital plan, the Jones library expansion and renovation, a new elementary school and a new Department of Public Works headquarters.
Last month my neighbor Erin turned to walk up her front steps, lost her footing, fell and shattered her ankle. I held her hand as she went into shock, calmly reminding her to breathe. After her wife called 911, emergency medical services personnel arrived and Erin was in good hands, getting the care she needed.
Being able to call 911 and having trained emergency medical staff or firefighters show up minutes later is local government at its best and most basic level. But in parts of South Amherst timely emergency service is a challenge.
Over the span of four decades, three separate town committees — in 1966, 1983 and 2006 — have recommended replacing our downtown fire station, which is the home of firefighters and EMTs like those who came to Erin’s aid, with one further south.
In this column I aim to explain the need for a new fire station, how much it will cost, how we can afford it, and explain why it’s an investment worth making.
Amherst currently has two fire stations. The newer of the two, located north of downtown, was built in 1979. You’ll find it on Pleasant Street, near the UMass safety complex. The second station is downtown, sandwiched between the Works Café and CVS. This is the station the town is eyeing to replace.
Downtown is not an ideal location for a fire station. The station north of town can reach downtown in minutes but emergency responses to parts of South and East Amherst have been dangerously delayed due to their distance from the central fire station.
Each of the studies the town has done recommend replacing the downtown station with a one located somewhat south of the downtown. The 2006 study explored the option of maintaining three stations, but the capital expense and annual operating costs make that prohibitive.
Location isn’t the only problem. The downtown building, which was constructed in 1929 is “woefully inadequate and not a safe place to work” according to town documents.
The list of problems is long. For example, the bays where vehicles park are too small for modern firefighting and EMS vehicles. An American-made ambulance is wide — leaving only 2 inches between the sides of the vehicle and the bay where the ambulance needs to be parked. Our staff are good drivers, but even the best drivers will lose a few side mirrors if asked to back a large vehicle into a bay with 2 inches of lateral clearance.
And undersized bays are just the tip of the iceberg. The old fire station has inadequate work and storage spaces, the living conditions for firefighters are poor and the decontamination, living and bathroom areas don’t meet national standards or codes. The building also has outdated electrical and plumbing systems.
In 2018 the town spent $75,000 on a feasibility study for a new fire station. This study determined that 586 South Pleasant St., the current site of the Department of Public Works, is the best location in town for a new fire station.
The play the town is pursing is moving the DPW to a site that can better accommodate it and using the South Pleasant Street site for our fire station.
Can we afford it and how will we pay for it?
A new fire station is expected to cost $15 million and, unlike the library expansion or the proposed new elementary school, there’s no state program to help pay for it. We have to go it alone.
Our town manager and the Town Council have stewarded a plan that allows us to build a new fire station and the other capital projects that I’ve written about in previous columns in this series. This comprehensive capital improvement plan hinges on our ability to unlock state funds for the library and school, and using the town’s borrowing capacity and AA+ bond rating to finance a new fire station and new headquarters for our DPW.
We can do this. We’ve been planning on it for decades. But executing the plan not only requires folks in Amherst to connect the dots, but it also requires us to be open to change.
Today Amherst is a community of nearly 40,000 residents. Forty-six firefighters operate out of our two fire stations to protect the lives and property in our town. They field about 20 calls a day. The time has come to make sure these essential public servants, as well as our librarians, teachers and DPW staff, can effectively and efficiently serve our town for decades to come by making a coordinated investment in Amherst’s future.
Johanna Neumann is a 10-year resident of Amherst. She currently serves on the Amherst Planning Board.