'Long Overdue' Beach Fire Station Work Begins

While Fire Chief Chris Silver said the past week or so had been "stressful," it was all extinguished Wednesday the moment his gilded shovel hit dirt to officially mark the start of the reconstruction of the Hampton Beach fire station.

Silver said the stress was due to all the final steps required before the project could break ground, although that stress was nothing compared to the years and years that fire, beach and town officials have spent seeking approval for a replacement for the at the corner of Ashworth and Brown avenues.

"This has been a project that has been many, many, many years in process," said Silver, who said he's been "really excited" to get started. "We've known that for many years we were in desperate need of a new fire station in the beach district, and I can truly say the community of Hampton... came together to make this happen."

Several dozen beach and town officials, firefighters and residents attended Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new station, which is on Brown Avenue behind the current station and across the street from the Hampton police station.

The $3.1 million station reconstruction is part of a $5.7 million bonded project that also includes an addition and renovations to the Winnacunnet Road station. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Winnacunnet Road station will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, and both stations, which were approved at town meeting, are expected to be completed by August 2013, according to Silver.

Many in attendance were beaming and thankful Wednesday the project has officially begun, calling the construction a major piece of Hampton Beach's history.

"This is history being made," said Steve LaBranche, treasurer of the Hampton Beach Village District. "It really is. This is so long overdue. I'm just as happy as a clam."

Tom McGuirk, a Hampton Beach businessman who also serves on the Hampton Zoning Board, said one of the most important things to keep in mind is how the new facility will aid the department and, more importantly, its employees.

"It's great morale support," said McGuirk. "They're finally getting the recognition they deserve from the community, what with the new contracts and a new facility. You wouldn't expect people to work in a dilapidated building in business, so why would you allow it for firefighters?"

Town Manager Fred Welch agreed, stating it's a "big deal" to finally be able to get "better facilities" for town employees.

"When your employees aren't safe, no one else is safe, particularly in the safety service," he said.

Welch said the outdated building also prevented the town from fully equipping Hampton firefighters with gear they need to perform their jobs, as the reason Hampton hasn't bought new apparatus for the beach is because they "can't fit it in the building."

Rye Fire Chief William "Skip" Sullivan, a former fire chief in Hampton, said the groundbreaking has been "long overdue" for that very reason. Sullivan said there have been numerous issues with the building, from lead paint to other code problems, although he said it was immediately apparent to him on his first day in Hampton in 1968 that the station "should've been torn down" due to its inadequate size.

"I'm just glad they finally broke ground and got it off the ground," said Sullivan. "Now you've almost got to design your trucks around the station [due to size limitations imposed by the building itself]. That was a big issue. It won't matter now because the new station will accommodate any kind of truck."

Silver said work on the stations will continue through the winter, assuming the weather cooperates. He said he expects to lose several parking spaces at the fire station by the end of the week due to the construction, although he said firefighters will be allowed to park in the municipal lot across Brown Avenue to compensate for this.