Vails Gate FD set to begin construction of new firehouse

By Alberto Gilman
Posted 2/8/23

Members of the Vails Gate Fire Company over the course of the past few weeks have been packing away memorabilia, equipment and other trademark items of their firehouse located at 872 Blooming Grove …

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Vails Gate FD set to begin construction of new firehouse

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Members of the Vails Gate Fire Company over the course of the past few weeks have been packing away memorabilia, equipment and other trademark items of their firehouse located at 872 Blooming Grove Turnpike in preparation for construction materials to be delivered for their newly anticipated firehouse.

In June 2021, the fire company held an informational meeting for the public to learn more about the project, which is to take place in two phases. The additional station located along Weather Oak Hill Road was not included in this plan. The first phase, as previously reported, would consist of the construction of a temporary base of operation with several truck bays, offices and storage for the company. The second phase would consist of the demolition of the old firehouse and the new one would be built in its place. Later on in June, the public voted in favor of the bond in a special election held at the firehouse.

Steve Sager, Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, shared that the contracts for the construction of the firehouse were awarded to Key Construction and construction should take about 18 months to complete. H2M Architects have been tasked with designing the firehouse and no changes have been made to the final design. “The public’s support has been tremendous. The town support has been tremendous. So we’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from all parties and we’re really hoping to put a really nice building up,” said Sager. “One of the things that’s important enough is that we operationally have developed plans, and whether we’re in the firehouse or in our storage building to make sure that the protection for the fire district is the same.”

Chief James Merritt shared that the public should expect the new firehouse to be completed by November 2024 and is equally excited about the anticipated firehouse. “This has been better of seven, eight years of planning. It’s a sigh of relief that all that is done and we’re at the starting line,” said Merritt. “We’re glad that they [the public] were able to come out and see it and appreciate how much it was needed and we’re looking forward to delivering them a nice product and continuing to provide the service that we provide, and this will help us to improve it and grow it in the future.”

The original firehouse that the fire company operates out of currently was first constructed in 1958 and over the years, the meeting room extension and additional upstairs offices were constructed. With this new building, the planning would see the new building be usable and functional for the next 75 years.

New Windsor Councilman Stephen Bedetti, who also serves as the Vails Gate Fire Company President and is an active member, shared his thoughts on the project as it is set to begin.

“We can’t wait for this to happen. It’s long overdue,” said Bedetti. “Thank them [New Windsor residents] for being supportive of what we do here. I think it’s important for everybody to know that we are 100% volunteer, all volunteer here. These are guys that have families in town, that are raising families, kids, and they give every minute they possibly can of their life to come here to volunteer their time here.”

In addition, there is no anticipated impact to traffic along Route 94 and shovels in the ground should start in late February, early March, according to Merritt. The construction could start earlier but there is also weather to factor into this project.