HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee to Study the Requirements of the Fire Department, 1940 March 1, 1940
TO THE CITIZENS CF THE TOWN OF LEXINGTON:
VOT7D, November 10, 1936, that the Moderator be instructed to
appoint a committee of five citizens to study the requirements of
the Fire Department as to general locations and improved housing.
REPORT
An inspection by your Committee revealed the following con-
ditionb:
(1) The Central fire station is of wood construction, with a
portion of the exterior veneered with brick. This house is not only
entirely too small to properly house the present fire alarm and fire
fighting equipment , but is of the type and construction that presents
a definite fire hazard.
This creates a dangerous condition insofar as the protection of
the town ' s very valuable and much needed equipment is concerned.
A wooden addition is built on the rear of the main building, a portion
of which is on private land. The entrance and egress to this
addition, for the equipment that is housed therein, must be made from
the side of the building and over other orivate land. Some of the
fire-fighting equipment is housed in privately owned wooden buildings
adjacent to the fire house. The wood buildings that surround the
fire station cre?te another definite and dangerous fire hazard due
to the lack of fireproof construction in the fire station as well
as in the surrounding buildings.
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The boiler room, in which is located the heating equipment
for the station, is inside the main building in close proximity to
the fire apparatus. The floor of this room is approximately four
feet below the level of the main floor, and the partitions that
senarate it from the main portion of the building are constructed
of wood; the stairs to the second floor are directly over this boiler
room and are of wood construction. (This creates, in the Committee' s
opinion, a dangerous and hazardous condition and one that should not
exist in a public building of the importance of this fire station,
which houses both men and necessary and expensive equipment . )
The building is badly in need of repairs and practically all
the sleeping rooms show water stains from leaks in the roof.
(2) The East Lexington Station is an antiquated building of
wood construction. It is of indefinite age and its uses, previous
to being used as a fire station, have been many and varied. There
is much Taste space of no value to the Fi_re Department; 'rrhich ma',ces
the building expensive to heat and maintain.
The exterior is in a deplorable conqltion; badly in need of
paint and repairs, and detracts greatly from the general appearance
of the neirhborbccd. It 'affords even less protection to the men and
fire-fighting equipment quartered in this building than there is in
the Central fire Station.
LOCATION OF HOUSES
The Committee considered the advisability of housing all equip-
ment in a central fire station, but it is their opinion that this
would not be a sound policy for the town and one that we do not
recommend for the following reasons:
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(a) Fire hazard and the possibility of all equipment
being destroyed.
(b) The present insurance rates are based, in part,
upon having two fire houses andhiher rates
would be expacted if a consolidetion were
effected.
(c) The continued growth of the town and particularly
the outlying sections , we believe, is assured and
would be better served with two or more Fire
Stations than by one.
Three sites were considered for the location for the central
station; Bedford Street, adjacent to the F. K. Johnson Gqrage;
Hastings Park; and the so-called Barnes Property, now owned by the
town. It is the Committee 's opinion that the Barnes property is
the most desirable and suitable . It meets the requirements suggested
by the Committee appointed March 12, 1928, namely, "that the Central
Station should be located within a three-quarter mile radius of the
Town Hall" . Another Committee appointed to study the general
locations of Fire Houses , in their report to the Towh Meeting
March 20, 1933, also recommended the Barnes property as the most
suitable site for the Central Station.
The fire engineers felt that if either of the other locations
were used, the operation of the equipment would be greatly retarded
due to the dangerous turns that would be encountered in reaching the
north part of the town. The Comuittee feels it would be desirable
for the town to own the land on the corner abutting the Barnes property
if this location were used.
Three sites were considered for the East Lexington Station; the
present location, the lot on Massachusetts Avenue directly opposite
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the 'presentlocation, and the lot now occupied by the Old Adams
School. It is the Committee ' s opinion that the Old Adams School lot
is the most desirable . It is larger than the present location, it
has an easier grade for the approach from Massachusetts Avenue, and
the equipment could be housed in its present and possibly only avail—
able space during the construction of the new building.
Both the recommended sites are now owned by the Town and no
expenditure for additional land would be necessary. The present fire
alarm equipment could be moved and used in new buildings .
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