Casco Fire Study

(Continued from Page 1A) costs of a new station, but would not include the benefit of a 5,500-square foot public works building and would be less functional than a new facility on site,” the report said.

“Our recommendation is to pursue a new building scenario at the existing site and keep the Brown Avenue location as a seasonal call company facility,” the study said.

No Room For Growth

The current fire station in Casco does not provide room for growth, according to Chief Cole. In fact, the apparatus are parked two deep. Sometimes, the vehicle that is needed for a 9-1-1 call is the one in the back, he said. That situation cuts into response time.

“We have no more space in the fire station. There is nothing else we can do. We cannot add staffing, we cannot add equipment. There are a lot of things we are prohibited from doing because we are maxed out,” Cole said.

Additionally, the chief shares his office space with other staff.

Later during the discussion, an audience member asked about the current sleeping quarters. Another person asked what type of activities the station cannot do because of space restrictions.

“The sleeping quarters are a day room and a bunk room. Two people work each shift. Each of them will go into one of those rooms. There are No dedicated sleeping quarters. It doesn’t meet the standards of what we need to provide for sleeping quarters,” Cole said.

There is a program through Southern Maine Community College in which a fire department can provide college students with the ability to live and work at the fire station while attending college.

“It offsets their tuition. We get their employment while they are here. That bolsters our staffing,” he said.

While this program is something in which the department would like to participate, the “health and safety” of the current staff “is first and foremost,” Cole said.

The almost 50-year-old station offers no separation between the used fire-fighting gear and the rest of the building. The cancer-causing agents, or carcinogens, aren’t removed from the air that everyone breathes.

EARTH DAY — Two Naples selectmen (from left) Kevin Rogers and Colin Brackett joined resident Joanne Jordan in organizing an Earth Day cleanup on Saturday morning. Afterwards, the three drove around in trucks and picked up the trash bags left by participants. This last-minute effort was a response to learning that the Casco-Naples Earth Day Organization would not host a cleanup this year. About 20 people showed up and put a dent in the trash along roadways throughout town. “The cleanup was a success, and we hope to build on it,” Brackett said.

“There is no air quality control. You come back from a fire. All the gear is dirty. It is still off-gassing for days after a fire,” Cole said. “How can I now protect my guys from these carcinogens?”

The sketches of a proposed building “included a sauna in the shower area of the fire station. They just started releasing studies if you return from a fire, sitting in sauna releases those toxins from your body,” Cole said.

Casco Town Manager Anthony “Tony” Ward further explained why this is a necessity, rather than a want.

“Right now, if a fire fighter is diagnosed with cancer, it is assumed it happened on duty. So, it is a workers’ comp case. That is why you hear about the sauna,” he said.

After the presentation, Susan Witonis suggested that people take a tour of Windham’s new station off Route 202.

Then, she posed a question.

“How does this plan fit into the regionalization that is being talked about,” Witonis said.

Ward answered.

“Chief Cole has been a strong voice about regionalization. He said that feasibility study shows Plan A, but regionalization should be Plan A and this is Plan B,” Ward said.

Anyhow, the change will not occur overnight.

“It’s a 10-year plan. It is nothing that is going to happen tomorrow,” he said.

“But, it is definitely a step in the right direction: where we are, where we are heading.”