SAUGUS — A burning problem will be resolved for the town’s first responders.
The heating, cooling and ventilation system at the Public Safety Building has not been working properly for several years, posing a health threat to the town’s first responders. Town Meeting provided funding to replace the system after the police and fire chiefs sought a solution to the problem.
“In the past decade we’ve had health and safety issues with our employees — there are over a hundred employees over at the Public Safety Building — and we want to keep these people healthy,” said Fire Chief Michael Newbury.
Many of the Fire Department employees work 24-hour shifts and need to be rehabilitated after responding to an incident, he added. The current system does not allow for that.
Interim Police Chief Ronald Giorgetti echoed the concern.
“When the personnel come in off the street after a major event, depending on the temperature, it affects them,” said Giorgetti. “I doubt they’ll cool down. When we have the winter weather and it’s cold out and they’re outside for an extended period of time, they come back to the station to warm up. We don’t have adequate heating to do that.”
The current system was installed in 1999 and replacement parts are no longer available, he said.
Town Meeting allocated funding for the $334,000 project Monday night.
More than $156,000 of the money will be repurposed funds that were borrowed and not needed for previous projects. An additional $177,000 will be borrowed.
The cost will cover the new units, switches and technology for both buildings.
The Public Safety Building is expected to be used for at least another three decades, said Newbury.
