The West Rockport Fire Station Building Committee met several times with Architect Amanda Austin of 2A Architects and engineer Bill Lane of Gartley & Dorsky Engineers to create the preliminary design for the new fire station. 

Why does Rockport need to consider building a new West Rockport Fire Station?

The current West Rockport Fire Station was built in 1973 and has space to house two fire trucks with max lengths of 28 feet. Currently, Engine 23 which was built in 2015 and Engine 24 which was built in 1988 are stationed in the building. Engine 24 is for forest fires only.

At the Public Safety building on Main Street, three fire trucks are housed, and all are over 29 feet in length and 10 feet tall. None of these trucks will fit in the West Rockport Station.

Should there be an issue with Engine 23 forcing it out-of-service for any reason, there would only be a forestry truck stationed at the West Rockport Fire Station, thereby increasing the response time for any fire calls in and around West Rockport.

Currently there are 29 members of the Rockport Fire Department.

Four of these members live near the Public Safety Building on Main Street and 24 firefighters live near the West Rockport Station. With the newest apparatus housed on Main Street, the response times are lengthened when more than one engine needs to respond to a fire call.

The future of the volunteer fire service has dramatically changed over the last 25 years, and fire departments are having to change with the times. Finding citizens to volunteer at the fire department is becoming extremely difficult with the time commitments, regulations, and rules. At some point in the next several years, it is expected that the Town will need to consider full- time firefighters covering the community in 12-hour or 24-hour shifts. As the Town plans for this option, and the potential for housing EMS personnel in the future, the WRFS should be designed to accommodate this inevitability.

Additionally, the Town’s current ISO rating is based on two fire stations to cover the square mileage of the town. The ISO rating makes a significant difference in how insurance companies determine premiums for homeowners’ insurance. The constructions of a new station that can house the more modern equipment may result in a better ISO rating.

What about remodeling or expanding the current station?
To fit the Town’s newer fire engines in a renovated/expanded fire station, the roof height would need to be raised significantly, the building’s footprint would need to be expanded and the basement would need to be addressed. All the mechanical systems would need to be replaced and could not be located in the basement as they are now due to code issues and flooding concerns. The current station is not ADA compliant. Also, expansion or renovation of the existing building would not fully address the vehicular circulation and access issues which are a result of the placement of the existing facility on the site.

Regarding the site issues, the location of the current building in West Rockport is difficult. The State of Maine’s right-of-way extends approximately 15’ into each entrance of the WRFS from Route 90 and Route 17. As currently located, there is only 20’ of usable space from the edge of the right-of-way to the edge of the building.

The planning process has focused on replacement of the building since 2017 after identifying the deficiencies in an expansion. The Town and Select Board have previously made provisions for the replacement of the building by acquiring the Thorndike parcel and contracting for the pad site construction behind the current building.