Fire Substation A Step Closer To Reality

The East Hampton Town Board held a public hearing on July 19 regarding the planned fire substation in Northwest Woods, and a proposed agreement between the town and Village of East Hampton for the town to lease the land to the village to allow the project to move forward.

The agreement is needed because the East Hampton Fire Department is located in the village, while the proposed substation will be on town property.

The site for the substation is on Old Northwest Road. It was once a brush dump and landfill site. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has signed off on the project.

The substation will be a one story, 3800-square-foot building. Essentially a garage, it will have four bays for emergency vehicles. There will also be a 250-square-foot office and a small kitchenette. There will be 17 parking spaces, and a generator on site.

“Our district is very large,” East Hampton Fire Department Chief Gerard Turza said Sunday. A tanker, a brush truck, and a fire engine will be stored at the site. Right now, if there is a fire in the Northwest Woods area, firefighters have to travel to headquarters at Cedar and North Main Streets, then head north to the fire. During the summer months, that involves weaving through the sometimes bumper to bumper seasonal vehicular traffic.

“They will be a little closer to a fire,” the chief said about the new substation. There will be a brush truck, a fire engine, and a tanker truck in three of the bays, with the fourth possibly occupied by one of the village’s ambulances.

Two people spoke at the public hearing, both Springs residents. Martin Drew said he was fully in support of the proposal, and called for a one dollar, 30-year lease, according to the minutes of the meeting. David Buda questioned the need for the substation.

The next step towards completion of the project will be the town and village entering into an agreement to lease the land.

t.e@indyeastend.com