New fire station up and ready

The new Great Barrington fire station.(Darren Vanden Berge / Berkshire Eagle Staff

New fire station up and ready
Memories aside, it is time for current crew to move on
By Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Updated: 10/27/2009 08:32:11 AM EDT



GREAT BARRINGTON -- It was a big night for the Great Barrington Volunteer Fire Dept. Monday night.
With sirens blaring and lights flashing, the department's four fire engines drove from their former home on Castle Street, which they have inhabited since 1899, to their new digs on Stockbridge Road.

"It's a bittersweet night," admitted Deputy Chief Edward G. McCormick. "I think of all the calls we went out on, all the guys I served with who aren't here anymore, it's good and it's sad."

"I think sometimes about the firemen who came before me, and the decisions they made in our meeting room," said Deputy Chief Gary Oggiani. "For more than 100 years, people met here to make those decisions. That's something to consider."

"Yeah, I'll miss it -- a little," conceded Chief Harry Jennings. "But the old building just didn't have enough space for modern firefighting equipment."

The ceilings in the old buildings were a constant problem. They were too low to allow the cabs to be opened and serviced. There was maybe 3 feet of space between trucks, meaning that firefighters had to drive the trucks outside to open the compartmental doors.

In fact, the vehicles spent a lot of time outside, since they had to be driven outside to be washed.

The new station has about 16,500 square feet, and while everything fits, the vehicles have to be carefully parked because a bay at the rear of the building holds the



decontamination unit.
There are offices for Jennings and his deputies. There is a meeting room for the department's auxiliary group, and a dining area. There is storage space for equipment and suits.

There is some controversy from opponents of the new station who believe it is too large. But, Jennings noted, the building seems large because in the old building, the department was trying to accomplish the logistical equivalent of fitting 10 pounds of sausage in a five-pound bag.

"In the old building we were using every inch of space we had," said Jennings. "Counting the attic and the basement, we had almost 15,000 square feet. We had exercise equipment in the attic, we used the basement for storage. This building is a lot more user-friendly."

The department will host an open house on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Residents are invited to tour the facility. Refreshments will be served. The town will have a formal dedication ceremony in a few weeks, said Jennings.

In addition, there will be a formal decommission event for the old firehouse, he said. Presently, there are no concrete plans for the building, although some town offices are already there, and other departments plan to use the space for temporary storage.

But Monday, there was an informal decommissioning ceremony. Just before the trucks all left, McCormick gathered the firemen around him and asked for a moment of silence.

"Let's remember the good times we had here, the calls we went on and especially our brothers who have come before us and served this town so well," he said.

The firemen bowed their heads for a moment.

"I declare this station closed," said McCormick.