S.O. Gets $247K for Repairs to Crest Drive Firehouse

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced the award of $57.6 million for the construction or renovation of emergency operations centers, and South Orange was among the recipients, winning $274,000 for needed work on its Crest Drive firehouse.

According to South Orange Fire Chief Jeffrey Markey, the Crest Drive firehouse is the site of communications equipment used by the fire department, police department, Rescue Squad, New Jersey State Police and other agencies. It's also used as a reserve station during inclement weather, when firefighters are activated there to shorten response times in the Newstead area, and a secondary dispatch site for emergency police and fire communications.

While it had already been known that the building's emergency generator needed replacing, a needs analysis by engineers within the past few years revealed that the building needed other repairs, he explained. "We were advised that the building probably needed upgrades in addition to the generator," said Markey, noting that the firehouse hasn't been renovated since around 1960.

Here's a list of planned repairs to the site:

• Existing interior space renovation creating a civil defense center
• Replacement of the existing furnace
• Adding a cooling option to the new furnace
• Interior lighting renovations
• Replacement of alarm system
• Intrusion control system
• Lightning protection
• Emergency power testing equipment

The grant covers the estimated cost of putting all the work out to bid in a single project, Markey said.

More than $5 million is to be channeled to New Jersey by the DHS for construction or renovation of emergency operations centers.