At the Special Town Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, Fire Chief Gary Daugherty, Jr. will ask Hopkinton voters to approve funds to make much needed repairs to the fire station. The project involves replacing HVAC units on the building, which are 27 years old, and have now rusted. Consequently, anytime it rains, water pours in from multiple areas of the fire house, forcing the staff to deploy a network of buckets.
In this video, we tour the fire house with Chief Daugherty to inspect the failing equipment. We also got to watch our firemen load out as they respond to a natural gas call on Thayer Heights Road.
I really like & appreciate this type of “real” coverage you are doing. The insight into different businesses and Town departments is very cool to see. Plus, I now fully understand what we are voting on. The fact that the water leaking happens alongside all those wires…
Let’s keep the use of water something our firefighters appreciate and not loathe because they are placing buckets to collect it in their home-away-from-home!!
Unfortunately Hvac equipment doesn’t have the bling of a new Pierce dasher engine company but is still an important part of fire department operations. As a 40year HVAC mechanic it’s all to common as long as the heat and air conditioning work they are ignored. The real fact is that all mechanical equipment has a lifespan. Roof top unit like HFD has are actually a very efficient and cost effective way to heat & cool a building yet the downside is they live outside on the roof limiting their effective life span to 20years +-. Good town facilities management would track mechanical equipments age and budget replacement this would limit additional damage to the building and remove emergency repair from town meeting vote.
Thank you HopNews for this insight. I am typically skeptical of the wants of government entities however this highlights the clear need to fix the problem. Our first responders deserve to have a safe, dry location to work and I fully support this.
This is unacceptable for our firefighters to have to deal with. Please vote in favor of their request. Thank you.
Great job Hopnews!! Our Fire & Police are top notch !!