Advocates Push for South Fire Station

Advocates for a South End Fire Station in Seekonk plan to make a presentation at the May 12 Spring Town Meeting.

“It’s a reasonable, suitable, adequate building,” said James Tusino, the chairman of the South End Fire Station Building Committee.

Tusino, along with Select Board member Gary Sagar, Oscar Elmasian, and former Seekonk Fire Lieutenant Allan Grocott recently spoke about the project on local access channel TV9.

“We have a building that is useful, it’s ergonomic, I think it’s needed in the south end of town,” Tusino continued. “Ultimately I think this gives you an opportunity to have a different station should something ever happen to the primary station (on Taunton Avenue), you would be able to occupy this station.”

Tusino noted more building committees would be held in the near future. Public input will be welcomed.

Voters at the May 2020 town meeting allocated $425,000 for the design of the facility at the former school administration building at 69 School Street. The town owns that property. The 8300 square foot building would consist of three components, including dispatch, living quarters, and fire suppression. A debt exclusion, or temporary tax increase, would’ve been required to be approved at town meeting before construction began.

In 2023, the Select Board decided not to place an article on the Fall Town Meeting warrant. The vote was 3 to 2. Chris Zorra and Hines voted in favor. Michael Healy, Pam Pozzi, and Justin Sullivan all voted in opposition.

Sullivan said the Fire Department had been “understaffed” and “overworked.” The potential lack of staffing for a new station was a concern raised by Sullivan before the vote was taken. The $11.2 million cost was another factor.

Last month, Fire Chief Shaun Whalen told the Select Board there would not be enough firefighters to man the new station. There are 10 firefighters assigned per shift. However, with allotted vacation time, the number drops to a minimum of six. Splitting the personnel among three buildings would allow only two firefighters at each station.

“The (South End) building would be vacant up to eight hours a day, if not longer than that,” Whalen explained.