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Lansing Fire Commissioners expressed frustration Tuesday at a public perception that work on two of the district's four fire stations is moving too slowly.  Commissioners say that things are going as well as can be expected when working on major projects with multiple contractors, as municipal taxing authorities are required to do.

"The contract is not finished yet," said Commissioner Alvin Parker.  "That's the way it works.  A lot of people are asking a lot of questions in a roundabout way, but nobody comes to these meetings to see what's actually going on.  You've got to follow the contract."

A major addition to Central Station on Ridge Road plus a replacement of the fire station on Oakcrest Road in the Village of Lansing are now in progress.  Commissioners originally hoped the Central Station addition, which adds a new equipment bay, a decontamination room, emergency medical storage, and space for up to eight live-in firefighters, would be ready for use at the beginning of this year.  A sprinkler system has yet to be installed in both the new space and the old building, and electrical work has not been completed.

Commissioner Jeff Walters said that completing Central Station is complicated because the district must work with four contractors that manage a total of approximately 20 subcontractors.  But he noted that pipe for the sprinkler system is being prefabricated, and electrical work is continuing.

District officials are developing 'bunker rules' that will govern the use of of living facilities that are a major part of renovations to Central Station.  One of the main purposes of the addition was to add code-compliant living quarters for volunteers that officials hope will attract new volunteers to the department.

The program will require bunkers to commit to specific shifts.  Because they live at a fire station instead of having to come from home or work, the emergency response time is expected to be shorter, and the number of emergencies not responded to to be diminished.  Last year Lansing volunteers responded to 556 EMS Calls and 448 Fire calls for a total of 1004.  In February they responded to 27 fire and 38 EMS calls, with no 'no responses'.  By the end of February they had responded to 117 total calls this year.

Commissioners say their insurance company is concerned about allowing unescorted guests in the facility.  That could be a problem for a bunker who is entertaining a guest when he or she must leave to respond to an emergency call.  Aside from that wrinkle Commissioner Darrel Rhoads says the policy is ready to go.  It will apply to bunkers in Central Station as well as the new Village fire station when it is completed.

Walters said Tuesday that at least one resident has accused fire commissioners of not cooperating with the Village, but he said that his working relationship with Village officials has actually been good.  He met with the Village Planning Board in December, and Monday he was successful in getting Village Trustees to agree to waive demolition and building permit fees for the project, saying it would save taxpayers money.


Station 5 was built originally in 1972.  In 2006 an ambitious plan to replace the building with a much larger fire station was halted when it turned out it would cost more than $2 million to build.  The current station is too small to hold modern emergency equipment, including large fire trucks, and was visibly deteriorating.  Last year the building was determined to be unsalvageable.

The new station will fill the same footprint as the current one, approximately 6300 square feet.  The cost is currently estimated to be $795,000 for a Morton-style building with four equipment bays with individual garage doors, and a new bunking facility.  Over half the emergency calls in Lansing come from the Village, and Walters says he is working with an architect to create a fire station that blends with the style and feel of the Village.

"We went with smaller doors that will blend more with the Village than big doors that would look more commercial," he told Trustees Monday.  "It will have a bunk room and bunkers.  We're going with four bays.  We're actually only going to fill three for now, but we're doing it now instead of adding on later."

Officials had hoped to begin demolition earlier this year, but are constrained to dot their Is and cross their Ts.  Walters said Tuesday that floor tiles have been found to contain asbestos, which will incur some added time and expense to safely extract before the building can be demolished.  He said it took NYSEG over a month to turn off the electric and gas because the company lost the paper work.  Tuesday Walters said that electric service, phone and water are off.  Despite delays, Commissioners say that bids to build the new building should be ready to go out around April.  Walters says the demolition should take three days once it can begin.

Both projects are being done without additional taxes.  Walters says the district has saved for these projects over the years, and they have the money to complete them.  The new project will be put to a vote, but commissioners say it is likely to pass because of the need for a working fire station in the Village and because it will not raise taxes.

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