Design plans for Firehouse 2 in North Wilton unveiled

WILTON — Renovations to North Wilton’s Marhoffer Fire Station may include an increased footprint as well as a raised ceiling for its apparatus room, based on the preliminary design plans.

The Fire Station No. 2. Building Committee and consultant Rob Sanders, of Wilton-based Rob Sanders Architects, presented the Board of Selectmen with three different design plans for proposed renovations to the station on Monday night.

The first plan, which Sanders noted was believed to be “inadequate” and a “bit of a squeeze” by the committee, would see decreased gym space and locker space, only one full bathroom and three bunk rooms in the renovated facilities.

“This wasn’t really a desire of the force … We felt that we were not really answering the statement of requirements at this point,” Sanders said of the first plan.

The second design plan would require adding about 350 square feet to the southwest part of the building, which Sanders said will allow the department to increase the footprint of the station’s gym area. Under this concept, the station would have four bunk rooms and more locker space.

This plan would also raise the roof on the station’s apparatus room to accommodate modern fire trucks, which are larger than the equipment from the 1950s, when the fire station was originally constructed, and other apparatus. This includes an option for storage space in a loft area added above the apparatus room.

One of the problems with the single-story concept, Sanders said, is that it does not provide enough storage space in the facility.

The third, and most expensive design scheme would involve adding an entire second floor to the the station.

“What seemed like a straight-forward grab for more space was to add another floor by extending the roof of the apparatus volume, which has to be raised anyway, westward to the end of the existing,” said Sanders.

This scheme would provide for storage space adjacent to the apparatus room, which Sanders said is a “desirable” for the fire department. The second floor would feature four bunk rooms, two beds and laundry facilities.

This plan would also allow for increased gym space on the first floor. With more space, the station could also equip two separate bathrooms — an issue that was important for the building committee to allow for the possibility of female firefighters in the future.

Sanders said all designs would require a near complete gutting of all mechanical equipment — HVAC, electrical, etc. The roof must also be raised to accommodate modern fire apparatus, Sanders said.

“We’re a foot short, which will be tough going in and out without raising the garage doors. That was the primary challenge,” he said.

Sanders said that the basic building costs for the single-story plan would cost the town about $976,000, whereas the two-floor proposal would cost about $1,040,000 — a difference of nearly $64,000.

The cost estimate of the single-story, three-bunk concept wasn’t included, Sanders said, because it didn’t meet the fire department’s standards. However, First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice said that in the future she would like to see it.

“We have to understand the difference in all the costs for all the scenarios and then a better understanding of how many times in a year there will actually be four people there versus two people,” said Vanderslice.

In addition to construction costs, Sanders said the town also needed to consider other expenditures.

For one, since the property is so compact, equipment and personnel would need to be relocated off site during construction. Assuming the station could use town land during the interim, Sanders estimates that it could also cost approximately $50,000 to rent a trailer to house personnel during the approximately one-year of rental for a trailer and a tent-shelter and hook-up for a fire engine.

An eventual visit to the Zoning Board of Appeals for the project is inevitable, said Sanders, which could lead to further expenses.

“This building is nonconforming in every way to the zoning district it’s in…so additions of any form to the building will require a visit to Zoning Board of Appeals. That includes raising the roof. That includes any new footprint,” said Sanders.