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Draft report urges new Oswegatchie station, expanded paid staffing and warns rising costs
Summary
Draft #3 of the Fire Services Review Special Committee recommends demolishing the deteriorated Oswegatchie Fire Station and building a new facility, staffing three stations with full‑time career firefighters, conducting a Standards of Response Coverage analysis, and notes renovation/new‑build estimates of roughly $11.1M and $12.6M respectively with possible escalation to $15–20M if delayed.
Draft #3 of the Fire Services Review Special Committee, reviewed Sept. 10, lays out a short‑ and medium‑term plan for Waterford's fire services that centers on three interlinked recommendations: replace the Oswegatchie Fire Station, expand paid staffing at key stations, and adopt strategic asset and fleet management practices.
The draft documents a long history of volunteer firefighting in Waterford and describes the town's current "combination" model of paid and volunteer staff. It reports an "active" volunteer list of about 30 people (characterized in the draft as those responding to at least one incident annually) and says volunteer declines nationally and locally justify a greater paid staffing presence.
The staffing recommendations summarized in the draft advocate for full‑time career staffing at three stations (Oswegatchie, Jordan and Cohanzie), use of a 24/48 schedule, blended part‑time coverage at other stations, and conducting a Standards of Response Coverage (SOC) analysis to evaluate operational efficiency. The draft says the current and previous directors of fire services favor continued growth in paid staffing to meet rising call volumes, development and response‑time concerns.
On facilities, the draft characterizes the Oswegatchie Fire Station as "extensively deteriorated" and recommends demolition and construction of a modern replacement that would support training, recruitment and operations; the Oswegatchie Elementary School and surrounding neighborhoods are cited as a key service area. Cost estimates in the draft (attributed to the construction program manager) put renovation "as new" at about $11.1 million and a new build at roughly $12.6 million, noting that delaying construction could increase new‑build costs to an estimated $15–20 million within 7–10 years.
The draft also highlights fleet and asset management priorities—standardizing purchases, rotating vehicle mileage, and adopting a 15–20 year service life for major apparatus—to protect operational readiness and taxpayer investment. The report frames immediate capital investment as more fiscally prudent than repeated interim repairs and rising construction inflation.
The committee approved substantive edits to the draft at its Sept. 10 meeting and authorized Chair Robert Tuneski to deliver the amended draft to the RTM for a vote. If the RTM accepts the report as submitted, the FSRSC will be disbanded; if not, the RTM may request revisions or reconstitute the committee in the next term.
