Putnam County waiting on a variance from the state to move forward with replacing the fire station in the Austin Bottom area.
Fire Chief Jeff Hicks said the new facility would house a full-sized tanker instead of the class A mini pumper currently there. Hicks said the station will remain unmanned but it would include a bathroom and living area so someone can be housed there if the need arises.
“Your volunteers can be anywhere and if there happened to be one in the area and there’s a fire in that area they could have it (up) and going before we could get there from the main station with the paid guys,” Hicks said. “Or if it’s a call that’s past that station and then somebody can stop and grab it and it’s extra. They wouldn’t have to turn and go all the way to Monterey or Boma or somewhere and get a tanker.”
Hicks said the old building will be torn down and replaced as the property for the station has very limited space. Hicks said the department is trying to get a variance from the Department of Environment and Conservation to allow for a smaller fill line for the station.
“I had to get some documentation from other stations that’s going to be just like this one about our water usage, which we are well under, to put a smaller sewer line there,” Hicks said.
Hicks said the department plans to use the same bid for the upcoming Gentry fire station for this one after a variance is granted. Hicks said it could take less than ninety days to get the new station online once it has a variance, but the department would be lucky to be in there by fall based on other recent building projects.
“Once they get the building up and get electricity on it, we can actually put a truck in there then,” Hicks said. “And then they can work on the living quarters. That’s what we’ve done in the past.”
Hicks said getting a tanker in the station will help the overall county’s ISO rating. Hicks said the project is part of a twenty-five-year-old fire station master plan for the county from MTAS.
