BANGOR – Plans for a new fire station won unanimous approval Tuesday night from the city’s planning board.

Construction of the new Station 6, which will replace the existing firehouse in a slightly different location, is expected to begin this year, Fire Chief Jeff Cammack said.

The current station sits at the corner of Griffin Road and Kenduskeag Avenue. Its successor will sit on the opposite side of Griffin Road, on a 41-acre parcel the city acquired 10 years ago for potential city uses, including a school.

Proposed is a one-story building, with three garage bays facing Griffin Road for fire vehicles and equipment. The building also will have bunk rooms for six crew members, an office, training room, weight room and kitchen.

From the day firefighters and emergency medical personnel moved in 21 years ago, Station 6 has been too small and badly configured. Its roof leaks, it is poorly insulated and ventilated, lacks adequate space for the city’s aerial truck, and has ineffective office space and an aging boiler.

Though at least one woman is assigned to the station, it has only one restroom and no separate sleeping quarters, Capt. Tom Higgins, who works out of Station 6, said earlier this year.

The station also is inefficient in terms of energy consumption, Cammack said during Tuesday’s planning board meeting at City Hall. Though Station 6 is about half the size of Station 5 on Hogan Road, it consumes roughly twice the energy. Plans for the new Station 6 call for heating it with natural gas, he said.

City councilors in May awarded a contract for the design and construction of the new firehouse.

The construction work will be handled by the firm Bar & Bar, which has completed a number of projects in Maine, and the design work is being done by the Bangor firm Ames A/E Architects & Engineers.

Though the council authorized the issuance of up to $1.5 million in general obligation notes to pay for the new station nearly three years ago, the cost could be higher because of the dramatic increase in the cost of construction materials since then, City Finance Director Deborah Cyr said this spring.

The actual cost won’t be known until the project is further along in the design process, Cammack said Tuesday night.

One of three fire stations in Bangor, Station 6 has the largest coverage area, according to the station’s Web site.

Its service area encompasses the northern part of the city, which includes Bangor International Airport, two shopping malls, several housing developments for the elderly and five mobile home parks.

dgagnon@bangordailynews.net

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