Photo By Eugene Driscoll
The new Ansonia Police Department is also set to house a senior center and, assuming it doesn’t add to the overall cost of the project, offices for the fire marshal and fire chiefs.
ANSONIA — City fire officials will get a new home downtown in the same building currently being renovated to accommodate both the police department and senior center.
The Board of Aldermen during its July 13 meeting unanimously approved a request from Ansonia Fire Department Chief Daniel Mudry requesting office space for him, the four assistant fire chiefs, and the fire marshal in the former Farrel Corp building, currently under a major renovation at 65 Main St.
Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley said the city will work with the project’s construction manager, Tenner Contracting, in planning space for the remainder of the building, and determine what costs, if any, may be associated with allocating space for the fire officials.
“The Mayor intends to fill out the entire space eventually,” O’Malley said. “It may cost very little to use what current office space exists, but that depends on what (the fire department’s) needs will be. If we can do it with available funding, we will find a way.”
Mudry said he, along with Ansonia Fire Marshal Darrick Lundeen, took a tour of the third floor of the building, which is being converted into police headquarters. They were given a chance to see the rest of the sprawling, 65,000 square-foot building, and noticed the potential for some office space on the second floor.
The second floor, which comprises 22,000 square-feet, will be used to house a brand new senior center, which city officials said will encompass about 9,000 square-feet. The senior center design is nearing its final phase (its relocation to the refurbished building is opposed by the Ansonia police officers union).
“We got a chance to see the rest of the building, and it appears there would be office space available on the second floor along the north corridor,” Mudry said.
“I called my second in command and we talked about asking the Aldermen if we could get some office space. I made a few phone calls, wrote a letter to the aldermen (to request space) and they made it happen.”
Mudry said he and the four assistant chiefs are currently situated in a very small and antiquated space in the old Department of Motor Vehicles building in the Public Works complex off Division Street, near the city dump. Lundeen’s office is located in space “the size of a shoe box” above the Hilltop Hose Fire Co., on Pulaski Highway, Mudry said.
“The conditions are less than ideal,” Mudry said of the office within public works. “In the hot summer months, it can get pretty smelly in here. It’s pretty small, less than 800 square-feet, with two tiny supply closets and not much floor space. It’s kind of like that first apartment you ever moved into.”
Lundeen, who’s been the full-time fire marshal for four years, said his current office on Pulaski HIghway is about 480-square feet, with a tiny amount of storage space in an attic. While the office has a wall unit air conditioner, the storage space does not, Lundeen noted, making it extra hot in the summer.
“The current office is difficult to find if you are not familiar with it,” Lundeen said. “The office is located on the second floor, accessible only by a set of wood stairs, which limits people who cannot climb stairs from visiting my office. If someone needs something and they can’t use the stairs, I make arrangements to either meet them somewhere, or if it’s a document, I bring it down to them. Storage is an issue for all the files and construction plans, fire prevention materials and general office supplies.”
Mudry said the chief’s office can get pretty cramped, especially when there are meetings with all five chiefs, and some of the line officers from each of the city’s five fire houses.
Having space downtown would be beneficial on many fronts.
“Being centrally located, the public will be able to know where the fire marshal is actually located, and let people know who might not even know that we have a chief’s office and assistant chiefs,” Mudry said. “It just makes sense for each chief to have their own office space, to keep their own paperwork, supplies, filing cabinets.”
Mudry, a 32-year veteran of the fire department, first joining the Fountain Hose Co. at age 18, also envisions a small training room, along with a big supply closet to house some gear.
“It’s long-overdue for these offices to move, but it likely might be a year or two before we even get into the building,” Mudry said.
Aldermanic President Josh Shuart agreed that the current digs for the city’s fire officials leave much to be desired, and given how closely they all work together, “a centralized spot would be terrific.”
