Town is looking to renovate three of its five firehouses

WEST ORANGE, NJ — At its April 24 meeting, the West Orange Township Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Herbst-Musciano Architects and Planners to evaluate three of the five West Orange Fire Department firehouses to determine what renovations are needed and provide a cost estimate for them. Firehouses 3 and 4 will be renovated and Firehouse 5 will receive a new roof. According to township engineer Len Lepore, those three firehouses were prioritized because they are the oldest of the five.

Lepore presented a proposal of the potential renovations to the council that was based on an assessment done by a different architectural firm a few years ago. Herbst-Musciano will take that past assessment into account during its new evaluation and will use information from both to determine the necessary work and a cost estimate for it.

“Based on that needs assessment, I prepared a proposal for work at three of the firehouses,” the engineer said at the meeting. “That’s not to say that the other two don’t need anything, but when looked at, Firehouses 3 and 4 needed the most work.”

Lepore said Firehouse 5 is actually the oldest firehouse in West Orange, but it received a complete renovation approximately 20 years ago. The others have never had any major work done inside or outside, though, according to Lepore. Firehouses 3 and 4 are both approximately 60 years old.

“At Firehouse 5 a new roof is needed; I don’t want that element of the building to further deteriorate,” Lepore said

According to Lepore, Firehouses 3 and 4 will receive new windows and roofs, and their brick exteriors will be cleaned. Improving the outside of the buildings first will make it easier to renovate inside, because construction workers won’t have to deal with being outside while the weather changes.

Councilman Jerry Guarino asked Lepore if there was an estimated cost, which Lepore said Herbst-Musciano will provide after completes the evaluation. He also said the plans will likely be made by mid to late summer, after the assessment is completed.

“If we don’t have enough money within our budget to make all the improvements, we’re going to pick the improvements that are necessary, which would include the roof,” Lepore said. He added that Fire Chief Anthony Vecchio and his staff have been involved in the planning process for the firehouse renovations, and will have more input when the assessment is completed and there is a cost estimate for the work.

Lepore also answered questions from the council about whether closing a firehouse temporarily would be necessary while renovations are in progress.

“That hasn’t really been looked at,” he said, but added that he does not expect the renovations to cause any firehouse closures. “It’s possible — if we were to have a gut rehab like we did at Firehouse 5 when it was the First Aid Squad. But I think accommodating the First Aid Squad, which was volunteer, was a little easier than it would be to accommodate the residents of a particular firehouse and the employees there.”

Addressing the project’s budget, West Orange Chief Financial Officer John Gross said the money for the firehouse renovations will come from the budget approved last year.

“This will be utilizing the funds that were authorized last year,” Gross said at the meeting. “We have approximately $700,000 and this contract will come out of that, plus any improvements.”

Councilman Joe Krakoviak asked Lepore why all five firehouses would not be receiving improvements and renovations, and Lepore said the town had to prioritize those that need the most work done.

“Sooner or later we’re going to have to do this,” Lepore said. “I went back to some of our oldest facilities to concentrate on them. That’s not to say there’s nothing wrong with Firehouse 2 or Fire Headquarters, it’s just where I thought we needed to pay some immediate attention.”

  FEATURED, West Orange Fire Department, West Orange Township Council