Voters To Decided Firehouse's Fate
Budget Referendum Could Shut West Hartford Firehouse
POSTED: 12:28 pm EDT October 7,
2008
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The results of Tuesday's budget referendum in West Hartford could force the closure of a firehouse.The town's revised proposal contemplates closing the station to trim expenses on the budget.There are currently five fire stations in West Hartford and the town claims that the annual maintenance expenses for the 93-year-old building are $25,000 and that code upgrades would cost another $125,000 in the future.No jobs would be lost in the 85-member department if the station were to close, but some members of the community have expressed safety concerns.Firefighter and Union President Louis Glanz said that closing what he called one of the town's busiest firehouses would create a longer response time."Look at the Rhode Island fire -- it took 90 seconds to kill 110 people. Ninety seconds is a long time -- it's going to take a lot longer than that for a fire station to come to this part of the neighborhood from the center of town," he said.Some residents said if the firehouse were to close, it would be a loss to the community."I think it would be a great sadness to the community," said resident Amy Kirby. "It's a safe place where kids can stop by. It's so many more things than a fire station."
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