By Jessica Rands

SMITHFIELD -- After finally building a larger firehouse, firefighters have a more efficient place to do their jobs.

The new firehouse has been in use since November, and Capt. Mike Hansen, who has been a volunteer firefighter in Smithfield for seven years, said the benefits are numerous.

"The best thing about the new firehouse is that we can store all of our fire trucks in one place. Before, we had some trucks at the fire station, some at the armory, and we rented a shed from a neighbor for the rest," said Hansen.

While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, Hansen recalled what a hassle it really was.

"We would get a call in the middle of the night, have to go to the station for our protective gear, then go to another location for the trucks, and then respond to the call. As you can imagine, it really slowed down our response time."

Another benefit of the new fire station is the larger training room where all the firefighters maintain their medical and fire skills every Wednesday. Hansen said that in the old building, the 30 plus volunteer firefighters could not even all fit in the room. The new training room has plenty of space and is equipped with state of the art training aids, including projection screens.

"I think it helps us train more effectively and we are better prepared," said Hansen.

The new station is also equipped with a meeting room, an infectious control room, a kitchen, more storage space, a large parking lot, and handicap accessible restrooms. There is a fire hydrant directly in front of the station so that they can do drills on site, rather than going to a public neighborhood street as they have in the past.

The second floor is still under construction, but will provide more training space, eight dorms for full time firefighters, showers, and a fitness room with exercise equipment donated by ICON.

Aside from the chief, Smithfield currently only has volunteer firefighters, but Hansen said that eventually there may be some full-timers.

"I think we will have a few within the next three to four years, but it all depends on if we get our own ambulance," said Hansen.

The old firehouse is no longer being used for obvious reasons. The building is in shambles. The walls and flooring are chipped and peeling, the windows are not well insulated, and it looks as though it has had no care for years. Hansen said that this is how it has always been, but to look at it, it is hard to believe that just three months ago, it was a fully operating fire station. Fully operating, but not fully functional says City Manager James P. Gass.

"It's the type of place we'd condemn if it was a residence," said Gass during a city council meeting last month. "It's in terrible shape. It's going to take an effort to upgrade it."

Which is why the city has claimed it as excess and is trying to sell it. An open house was held Feb. 14, during which the city was perfectly upfront about the building's problems to potential buyers. The city will continue to take offers on the building through next week.

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