By Anthony Rifilato
The work at Fire Department headquarters on Grand Avenue should move ahead soon despite a small fire last month, fire commissioners said at a board of commissioners meeting last week.
The fire temporarily halted work on the expansion and renovation of headquarters, which has already been hampered by numerous construction delays. "We're going in the direction to build and rebuild," said Commissioner Bob Quackenbush at the Dec. 2 meeting.
The fire began during a test of the building's new power generator, which fire commissioners said caused an exhaust pipe to overheat, resulting in a fire in the walls of the commissioner's board room at headquarters.
The fire caused moderate damage to the business offices and board room, although headquarters was up and running within three days of the fire. Last week's meeting was held at the Sanitary District No. 2 offices.
Work on the building project was expected to resume on Monday, Dec. 8, and another test of the generator will be conducted in the coming weeks.
Among the concerns of some commissioners was whether the generator in question had been damaged during the fire or if another test can be done successfully.
"If [the generator] fails the test, how long will it take to get another generator?" asked Commissioner Mike McDermott.
Quackenbush and others said that they were told by the architect, Paul DaSilva, and the manufacturer of the generator that it is not damaged.
If another test fails again, the worst-case scenario, Quackenbush said, is that the generator would have to be replaced, which could further postpone the project.
But commissioners said they were positive the generator had not been damaged during the load test and subsequent fire, because it would have shut down during the incident. It did not, because the fire started in the exhaust pipe, they said.
Fire Commissioner Paul Yanantuono noted some of the hurdles the department has had to face this year when he thanked three deputy chiefs of the department for their outstanding work. The setbacks included the injury of Baldwin Fire Department Chief Kevin Canham, who was severely burned while fighting a fire in Oceanside last summer, last month's fire and the tumultuous building project at headquarters, which he called a "disaster."
The architect of the project has denied any negligence as the fire department's insurance company investigates the cause of the fire, commissioners said, and there has been some finger-pointing among the different contractors and the fire department.
"[The architect] defended himself quite vigorously," said Quackenbush.
In other news, the department is moving to upgrade its communication and data systems by installing T1 lines, a step that would ultimately save the department money. The T1 lines, which are high-speed communication lines, will allow for greater data capabilities and enhanced communication between headquarters and the department's three firehouses.
