After attending the Dec. 1 Brunswick Finance Committee CIP Presentation by our Fire Chief Ken Brillant, I feel compelled to voice my concerns over the safety of our Fire Fighters at Central Station. The replacement of this 100+ year old building designed and built for horse equipment has been kept on the back burner for replacement for almost 20 years and now it is the time that the Town of Brunswick has no choice but to replace it due to all the structural and potential severe health issues.

Some of the issues that have kept moving the replacement out further in the CIP are the Emerson Fire Station, Harriet Beecher Stowe School, New Police Building, the new Town Hall expenses, and the replacement Recreation Center expense, just to name a few. This is now an emergency issue that needs to be dealt with right now and it needs to be put on the Town Council next agenda, not later.

The town hired Mitchell-Ross Associates to do an assessment of this building a while ago and what they found is not good. There are numerous structural deficiencies, including the floor, concrete is crumbling on the Parapet wall, constant leaking, stairs and fire escapes are not code compliant, there is no internal fire protection system, the hose tower leaks and is crumbling, and the apparatus bays are too small for the equipment as well as being unstable. I am sure there is mold in the building as it leaks continually, when the vehicles are running they put carbon monoxide into the building, and both of these issues can produce deadly results to our employees. We need to treat our firefighters better than this as we are putting their lives at risk.

Just say for instance that the crew was downstairs in the kitchen where they eat, and the floor gave away with a piece of equipment on it, they wouldn’t have a chance as the main floor is quite unstable and could collapse. I don’t think anyone wants this on their conscience.

I am very pleased with the council at their meeting on Monday the 5th as Central Station was brought up in discussion during the school presentation. If any of you did not watch the CIP Presentation by Chief Ken Brillant on the Dec. 1, you really need to as there is so much more wrong with Central Fire Station than what I have said. Just go to the town website and watch the entire meeting on TV3 site. The 1st presentation is on the new school, the 2nd is the Police Department, and the 3rd is the Fire Department.

The is also a sign on the building saying to not block the Fire Station, but that is on deaf ears as constantly delivery trucks are blocking access to the station and the crew has to go out and ask them to move them and are met with resistance to do so.

I truly believe from what I heard that if the health and structural inspectors would do an inspection on this building, they would not hesitate to condemn it due to so many structural and health issues.