Zoners Hear Testimony on Fire Safety at CHCC's Proposed Senior Housing

An expert in fire fighting called by the attorney opposing a proposed 258-bed senior living complex brought a number of concerns before the at a Monday night meeting.

The board heard testimony in the nearly yearlong battle over 's Vista Project at the special zoning meeting in front of a standing-room only crowd.

Gerard Naylis, with Bergenfield-based Technical Fire Services, Inc., was called to testify before the board on a number of issues he believed first responders with the could face should a serious fire break out at the massive facility planned for the Sicomac Avenue campus.

Among his concerns was how the township's volunteer firefighters would handle the additional glut of calls to the independent living residence.

According to Fire Chief Mike Rose, the WVFD currently responds to approximately 65 to 75 calls per year at the CHCC campus. The facility currently houses approximately 525 residents, according to CHCC President and CEO Douglas Struyk.

If built and fully occupied, the Vista Project would likely add more than 300 elderly residents to the campus.

Rose believes however, that the additional headcount would be offset by better technology in a newer, more up-to-date facility.

"There will be more responses, especially initially ... [but] due to the fact that this building is going to be up to today's standards and codes, a lot of the alarm malfunctions and false alarms that we respond to in some of the older buildings may not be present," Rose said.

But upon further questioning Rose added that some concerns could exist regarding aerial access to the facility's second story given its potential setback from adjacent roads.

A number of residents expressed concern with whether the project would negatively impact firefighters' response times to emergencies at homes in Wyckoff.

Rose responded by saying that no one can predict the number of calls his department will receive in any given year — in 2005 the department responded to approximately 490 calls, in 2011 the all-volunteer department responded to around 700. 

"Our call volume has increased and we're still able to provide adequate staffing and volunteers, so I don't think that will be a major concern," Rose said.

The CHCC facility sits on Wyckoff's border with Hawthorne, and as such, mutual aid plans with the Hawthorne Fire Department are in place, according to Rose.  

Asked directly by the Zoning Board whether the issues regarding fire safety discussed at the Monday night meeting would result in consideration of a smaller facility, CHCC Attorney Jerry Vogel remained firm, saying the project would move on as planned.

"We were in regular contact with the fire department," said Vogel. "If we did not believe that the scope of this project would adequately protect people from a fire or any other safety aspect, we would readily reduce this project."

Vogel added that many of the concerns brought up by Naylis in his testimony had been discussed between CHCC and the Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department, as well as with the planners of the Vista project.

"We're not prepared to reduce the size of the units," Vogel said.

The next meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustments will be January 23, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Wyckoff Town Hall.