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Sep 12, 2024
Fire

Mayor Evans marks start of firehouse renovations with groundbreaking ceremony

Photo of City leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony for a fire station renovation project.

Mayor Malik D. Evans today marked the start of extensive renovation projects at the Rochester Fire Department (RFD) firehouses on Goodman Street and Allen Street with a groundbreaking ceremony.

“These firehouses were on their way to functional obsolescence because they no longer fully meet the needs of a modern fire service,” said Mayor Evans. “I am proud of these improvement projects because they reflect our commitment to public safety, firefighter safety and workplace equity. By providing our employees with the best  possible equipment, facilities, and work conditions to perform their critical mission, we are creating a safe, equitable and prosperous Rochester by inspiring hope and delivering opportunity for everyone.” 

The projects will include structural renovations to, among other things, accommodate advanced apparatus and equipment, protect firefighters from health risks, and provide higher levels of privacy. The Goodman Street firehouse was built in 1960 and the Allen Street firehouse in 1955.

The upgrades include:

  • New roofs, heightened bay doors and reinforced floors to accommodate modern fire trucks that are now much larger and heavier than they were 60 years ago;
  • Decontamination areas so firefighters can clean off their turnout gear immediately upon returning from scenes, including structure fires with synthetic building materials that generate chemical discharge;
  • Sprinkler systems in the sleeping areas;
  • Addressable fire alarms that pinpoint the specific location of a fire;
  • Private sleeping areas to replace open bay sleeping areas with cubicle dividers around the beds. This is a point of concern as the RFD becomes more gender diverse;
  • Two unisex bathrooms and showers in each firehouse to replace single communal bathrooms and showers;
  • Improved lockers and personal item storage for firefighters;
  • Improved kitchen ventilator systems.
    The projects will take the firehouses offline for about a year. During that time:
  • Engine 9 and its crews will be relocated from Goodman Street to the Hudson Avenue firehouse;
  • Engine 13 and its crews will move from Allen Street to the Gardiner Avenue firehouse; and
  • Truck 10 will move from Allen Street to the Monroe Avenue firehouse.

Due to considerable overlap in the Rochester Fire Department’s response plan, the closures will limit the increase in response times for these crews to about one minute. During the initial months of the closures, the RFD will continue to look for opportunities to further reduce response times.

The $17.6 million cost of the renovations is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and, cash capital and City bonds.

“I want to once again express my deep gratitude to the members of our Congressional delegation for their role in securing those funds: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Joe Morelle,” Mayor Evans said.