A Walk Through The Braintree Fire Headquarters

This week I visited the Braintree Fire Department HQ on 1 Union Pl, Braintree. The building was built in 1929 and opened in 1930. My overall impression was that I was horrified by the state of the building. Some of the problems I saw with the state of the building and maintenance were similar with my review of Highlands Elementary school, but the issues with Highlands are in the basement. And what I saw at the Fire Department HQ was that the issues were out in the common area.

One of my motivations for doing the review of the building was because of the override campaign. The firefighters came out and supported the Override loudly and passionately, even though no money from the override went to their department. The firefighters are fearless in their jobs, and likewise fearless in defending kids and the rest of Braintree’s government with their support of the override! They deserve better than what they have to experience in the Fire Department HQ. Putting up with asbestos, no doors on toilets, holes in walls, and ceiling, and more.

Read on to learn more about the problems with the building. Starting with the electrical utility room.

The electrical room had examples of asbestos in the room, there was a sign from Andrews Electric from 1930. The building was built in 1930. There was a hodgepodge of wiring that I was advised not to go too near as it could be a danger in terms of electrocuting you. There was flooding on the floor in the rooms for the electrical room. The equipment was old, looking as if it dates to 1930 when the building opened. This probably means all the wiring in the building is old as well. And to replace it we'd have to tear all of that out, creating exposure to more asbestos. Terribly similar to some of the problems I saw at Highlands Elementary school, where the electrical panels were next to water leaks, and in rooms with asbestos.

This picture was in the electrical utility room, the rats nest of wiring was disturbing, especially as it was explained that we shouldn’t go near the wiring. I saw water on the floor in the meantime.

As you walk in the public areas especially on the ground level:

Piping in the building, in the main public areas, was the original brass covered in asbestos cladding, all exposed to the air and the firefighters must work in that environment. There are obvious leaks on the pipes because of the amount of material built up. A lot of the piping is from the original 1929 construction, so it is about 95 years old. Some pipes had been replaced with copper, but a lot of the brass is still there.

In the same public areas:

There were a series of leaks in the ceilings, which had been repaired, but the holes where the leaks had been repaired with the piping have been left open, because there isn’t sufficient money to repair the ceilings. So, even more exposed materials, potentially asbestos.

Back down in the basement.

One bright spot, the power systems for the HVAC systems looked new, but there was flooding on the floor, there was mud on the floor, and it wasn’t possible to store materials in the adjacent storage room because of the amount of damp and mold in the area.

Going back upstairs.

The banisters on the stairs are falling apart, they are probably original as well. They were all loose or looking like they were just going to fall off. It was unsettling, and you wonder how many times people have broken the banisters, especially as many of them had duct tape wrapped around them.

Up in the public areas, upstairs and in the bedrooms and locker rooms. I saw more ceiling, electrical damage, and one room was condemned with tape, we peeked inside, and got a whiff of the air, mold and water damage on the ceiling and walls. While in the common room, the windows didn’t work properly, and there were holes in the walls and little venting for the HVAC system.

In the firefighter’s restroom…

The restroom stalls had no doors, so no privacy, though someone had put up a curtain of beads that weren’t very effective. And in the skylight above the ceiling, the windows had been removed and cardboard put into place to stop water leaking into the restroom. It was shocking that the firefighters had to work in such an environment.

On the staircase to the tower, the iron staircase seemed solid enough, but I saw evidence of brick work chunks and flakes on the stairs. And outside when I came into the station, I saw peeling paint and damaged exterior doors on the tower.

Lastly, the dispatch system was antiquated and wasn’t working correctly.

For the last two weeks, the dispatch system hasn’t been working fully. Normally, the alarm would sound and then the location of the alarm would be broadcast, yet because the system wasn’t working correctly, this didn’t happen, so the fire crew didn't know where to go. The system is engineered by VocAlarm™, The VocAlarm™ is basically the PA system attached to the fire alert system used to alert the firefighters. There are lights, an alert tone, and the PA system. The dispatch system has not been working consistently. An alarm call sounded when I was there in the building. The information about where the location of the alarm was, wasn’t broadcast at the same time as the alarm.

Overall, I was appalled by the state of the Fire station HQ. It doesn’t look as if there’s much effort to repair the problems with the station HQ. It’s horrifying that our firefighters must put up with these conditions. From the electrical systems, to HVAC, to windows, to the restrooms, to mold and asbestos in the building, to the dispatch system. The schools are bad, but the Fire Station HQ is disgraceful.

We need to set up a fund for building maintenance and start to raise funds for the Fire Station HQ. I hope you’ll reach out to the firefighters and take a tour as I have done. If you are a citizen of Braintree, and you are proud of the town, see what we as citizens are doing by not supporting our firefighters.