$24 million firehouse for Thiells-Roseville to be discussed at public meeting Monday night

THIELLS − Firefighters put on their gear at times as gas fumes spew from idling trucks. Those trucks are packed feet apart in bays.

The Thiells Fire Department has outgrown its main firehouse along Route 202 as the department has grown with the community over the decades. The firehouse, built in 1960 on a half-acre site, doesn't meet some state codes.

As a result, a larger, more modern firehouse is being planned. The Thiells-Roseville Fire District commissioners will provide details and answer questions at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the firehouse, 99 Route 202.

The commissioners have scheduled a public vote for April 30 to ask residents to approve a $24 million bond for the purchase of land and construction of the firehouse.

"Guys don their gear sitting on the bumpers of the idling trucks," said Commissioner Robert Masiello, who chairs the committee overseeing the new firehouse. He's also a North Rockland Board of Education member.

"They are getting dressed breathing in fumes," he said. "The state code will eventually mandate separate dressing rooms. The trucks are parked four feet apart."

Masiello said the department inadvertently backs up traffic for a mile when backing trucks into the firehouse, which was built in 1960 with two bays on a half-acre.

The department owns five trucks and a marine boat for its diving team. A 1,000-square-foot attic is used for storage and members use a ladder over the kitchen area, which he said violates the code.Monday's presentation will include the proposed location, the design, and anticipated costs. The district had hired architects.

Bond issue costs for land and construction

The fire district's bond issue would finance purchasing 4.8 acres some 500 yards from the current Route 202 site, which is near the police station.

The property would cost $3.25 million and is owned by the estate of the late Rockland Medical Examiner Dr. Frederick Zugibe. The district negotiated with his son, Thomas Zugibe, a former Rockland district attorney and now a Supreme Court justice.

"We showed him our plans," Masiello said. "Tom Zugibe wants the legacy of the family's property to be part of the fire district."

The plans call for a two-story firehouse of 23,000 square feet. The look will follow Haverstraw's history of brick manufacturing and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The building will have five bays for trucks.

Masiello said the fire district's plan is modest and will not be a "Taj Mahal."

Masiello estimated the bond payoff would be cost-effective for the 30-year bond for the district's 2,229 homes and 70% cost for the district businesses. He said the average homeowner pays $185 per year.

The commissioners took $700,000 from the district's reserve fund of tax dollars and hope to sell the current firehouse property for $1.5 million.

"We're financially conservative," Masiello said.

Thiells-Roseville Fire District spent years planning a firehouse

Since 2018, the fire commissioners have been exploring options to purchase property for a state-of-the-art fire station, while minimizing the costs for taxpayers.

Their focus has been on building a facility that would meet responses to increasing emergency calls and improve the safety and security of firefighters, according to a district release.

Additionally, the proposed firehouse would increase space to house the existing and future fleet of apparatus and ensure the fire station complies with all safety codes and protocols mandated by law.

The district had three earlier options that never came to pass, Masiello said.

Building upward on the current firehouse was not possible since the building is under high-powered electrical wires. He said Haverstraw officials gave the district four acres near the high school but the land had a stream, wetlands, and other environmental issues. Discussions with the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission would have involved negotiations with New Jersey.

The Thiells-Roseville Fire District encompasses the Thiells Fire Department and David B. Roche Fire Co. The district operates on a $1.3 million budget approved by voters.

The department operates sub-stations on Hammond Road near North Rockland High School and on Beach Road near the Bowline Power plant. The department has a 14-member dive team including staff that covers — one of three with Piermont and Stony Point - from bridge to bridge on the Hudson River, Thiells is one of 26 volunteer departments in Rockland, providing emergency, fire, and search and rescue services. The district covers Thiells, Garnerville, Pomona, and parts of West Haverstraw, Palisades Interstate Parkway, 214 acres in High Tor State Park, and 7,965 acres in Harriman State Park. The district also serves as a Community Crisis Center and provides other emergency response services.

At a time when departments need volunteers, Masiello said the district isn't facing major problems. The district's fire prevention programs at schools are ripe recruitment grounds.

"We're one of the few districts that doesn't have problems with retention and recruitment," Masiello said. "We get a lot of high-schoolers who stay or come back."

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Thiells-Roseville Fire District sets meeting for new $24M firehouse