The Jericho Fire Department held a community meeting on Dec. 12 regarding the new fire house to be built on route 106/107. The five fire commissioners, architects, engineers, project managers, chiefs, volunteers and community came together to see the proposed plans, ask questions and engage in conversations about the new fire house.

According to the power point presentation by the H2M Group, the scope for the new headquarters is to provide space for current and future apparatus, provide a centralized location for response and to provide a new code complaint facility for members.

The basement is a partial basement and will include mechanical and support spaces and is limited to a small portion of the building footprint.

The first floor will include an apparatus room and room for apparatus support spaces. Also included is a weight room, showers, locker rooms, a sauna, a ready room, sleeping quarters, a lobby, elevator, stair core, washer and dryer and a kitchen area.

The second floor, which is limited to a small portion of the building footprint and utilizes the high ceiling requirements from the apparatus room, includes a training room, chief, assistant, secretary and treasurer offices, a conference room, a lobby, elevator and stair core, a bathroom and a smoking terrace.

The third floor plans include a department meeting room, a department lounge, library, company offices, a lobby, elevator and stair core, a bathroom and a smoking terrace. The meeting room will encompass a bar area, a walk-in freezer and an industrial kitchen.

Various materials, including ground face masonry, brick, metal panels, glazed masonry units and aluminum and glass window walls, are going to be used to provide an aesthetic interest.

According to the presentation, sensitivity to residential neighbors was important and elevations facing residences were taken into consideration, the fans face the commercial neighbors and sensitive building lighting prevents light pollution onto neighbors. A flat roof was designed to minimize the overall height of the building and low-area rooftop terraces were also utilized. Retaining walls and landscape was included in the plans to block and buffer neighbor views.

The pre-bid phase of construction is scheduled to be completed in January 2003. Also in January 2003, utility relocations will take place and documents for bidding will be released. The fire department will start to receive bids in February 2003. Construction is estimated to begin in April 2003 and be completed in August 2004.

After the presentation, residents had the opportunity to ask questions. Most questions focused on the need for the new fire house as there are presently two stations with this proposal being the third fire house in Jericho. Commissioner David Munafo explained that they are out of space and invited any resident who didn't believe him to take a tour of the current facilities and see the dangerous situations that the lack of space is creating.

Some of the comments took away from the question and answer format of the evening and turned the room into a volunteer versus non-volunteer situation with harsh words being exchanged between the two groups. The commissioners explained that the purpose of the meeting was to educate everyone about the plans and not to attack each other in the process.

Some residents asked if other possibilities were explored when deciding where to build the new fire house. The fire commissioners cited a report that was released from John J. O'Rourke and Associates in 1994, when the proposed construction site was purchased by the fire department.

The report states that the station in 1994 was "severely cramped and inadequate to house all of the equipment necessary to respond to the increased demands for service by the public."

The possibility of adding a third floor was also analyzed and the results were stated in the same report. Adding a third floor "would provide the additional required office space but would not address the need for more vehicle space within the ground level of the station and do nothing to assist in alleviating the already desperate parking situation or provide any improvements in response times."

One of the speakers asked if this was a done deal and the board of commissioners stated that the purpose of the meeting was for the board to hear the comments from local residents and see if there are any changes that should or can be made.

The commissioners and the residents agreed that the communication between the two groups has not been as good as it could be and this is something that everyone would like to see improved. If there are any further meetings regarding this matter, they will be posted in the Syosset-Jericho Tribune.