Plans for Kitchawan Fire Station Are Still Ongoing

Yorktown fire chief Martin McGannon said he hopes the proposed new fire station would open sometime in the spring or summer of this year. Members of the Yorktown Fire District presented the planning board back in October with a proposal to build a fire station on Kitchawan Road. 

In the late 1960s a state auditor did a survey recommending that Yorktown had six fire stations based on the town's square mileage and population, McGannon said. The Yorktown Heights Fire District covers 36 square miles with two fire stations, and Yorktown's population is approximately 38,000.

While he said no one is proposing that Yorktown should have six fire stations, adding a third one would better serve residents and fire fighters would be able to respond to a call quicker. 

"The third fire station is needed because it would provide the membership of the fire department t quicker means of providing fire safety and protection," McGannon said. 

In case of fire, within three minutes the atmosphere in the room becomes uninhabitable; within six minutes the area teaches combustion temperatures, he said. The new fire station would be placed strategically so firefighters have equipment in that part of town in case of emergency. 

"Time is always of the essence in a fire," McGannon said. "The faster you get water on the fire the better the chances you have of saving life and property." 

The proposed 3,100-square-foot building will house two apparatus bays, a day room, bathroom and equipment so firefighters have access to them in case of fire in the southern end of town. In addition, residents who live in the area and are interested in becoming volunteer firefighters might join the department.  

From the time the fire district had purchased the six-acre property, McGannon said, residents turned down twice a request to borrow money for a fire station. As a result, the fire district started a reserve fund and McGannon said the fire station could be build without increasing taxes or putting a burden on taxpayers. 

The estimated cost for the fire station is $600,000 to $750,000.

Some of the concerns residents have expressed are about lighting, the parking lot, and coloring of the roof, McGannon said. There will be 12 parking spaces to accommodate how many people will be using the building at once. One fire truck can seat six people at a time and the fire station will have two engines, he said. 

The fire district plans to use the fire station as a shelter for residents who might have an emergency in case of no heat or water damage to their homes. The fire station would have emergency back up powers, and there is no intention of putting up horns or sirens. 

"The residents in that area don't have the viable protection they need," said Yorktown resident and former town councilman Anthony Grasso. "I think [the Kitchawan fire station] is a necessity and I see no problem of having it."

The Yorktown Heights Engine Company No. 1 Fire Department is comprised of volunteers only. They report to the main station on Commerce Street and the second station on Locksley Road.