Richford Fire needs new digs, or else

By Lauren Royce —

RICHFORD — The Richford Fire Station is in desperate need of being rebuilt to code, and an upcoming vote by the town on Sept. 16 will decide whether that will happen.

Richford Fire Chief Tracy Keener said the state of the building is dire, so much so that it is considered condemnable. The tiny station has two bays, with hardly any room for the crew to gear up. A truck that slid off the road one winter did some damage to a wall. But the building, being nearly a century old, was already in poor shape.

“On the south side of the building, we have part of the wall crumbling, and we’re actually holding that part up with some floor jacks, so it makes that side unusable,” Keener said. Unable to upgrade any of the apparatus because it is so large, they are working with aging equipment. Out of four trucks total, only two are able to be in use.

“We actually had an audit done with OSC, which is pretty standard for government agencies, and their conclusion was if we do not obtain a new station, we have an end date. Because once our equipment completely ages out and is no longer usable, then we can no longer function. So this is a kind of dire straits for us.” 

Originally, the station had tried to get this project moving back in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was never realized. 

Keener said the project will be paid for by a bond and is expected to cost about $2.9 million.

“The value isn’t necessarily in the $2.9 million; it’s the sustainability of having fire service protection within our district,” she said. “We cut down based on other municipal projects that happened in the area; this is really our last cry for help, and we would greatly appreciate community support because we just want to help the community.” 

Keener had statistics prepared in a piece she has written up that stated the average paid firefighter costs a city or town almost $55,000 per year. This is salary only. This does not include insurance, retirement, payroll accounting costs, etc. 

Tracy wrote, “To outfit a firefighter costs roughly $24,000. The average department size for a paid company is 25 firefighters. This would cost $1,975,000. This is not a one-time cost. It is $1.3 million in salary alone per year. They would also require a new station with sleeping quarters.”

Jason Martin, treasurer of Newark Valley Volunteer Fire Department, also spoke out in support of the project.

“We want to see a new station built because it’s just important,” Martin said. “Richford without a fire station is no good to anybody. Particularly, the members of the community, for the neighboring fire departments, including Newark Valley, even Berkshire, Owego. We all work together. Quite honestly, it’s amazing they’ve been able to function and respond out of the station that they’ve got right now.”

The wish list isn’t long. Martin said the station really is asking for a functioning station and a workable environment.

“It’s basically a garage with a very dilapidated kitchen,” he said. “The proposed station is very minimal.”

In a letter of support from the Newark Valley Volunteer Fire Department regarding the Richford Station and its crew, they wrote, “When emergencies strike, when lives hang in the balance and seconds count, we count on the Richford Fire Department to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. They are a key part of our mutual aid system, and they are often the ones we turn to in our most difficult and high-stress calls. Simply put: we rely on Richford Fire just as much as Richford relies on us.”

The letter added, “That’s why we are urging you to vote YES for a new fire station.”

The vote will be held on Sept. 16, from 6-9 p.m., at the station at 14 Bowery Lane in Richford.