Renovations to two of St. Croix’s worn-out fire stations are proceeding at a satisfactory rate, according to Fire Services Director Pedro Encarnacion.
The Cotton Valley station on the island’s east end, which has been closed since late last summer because of deteriorating conditions, is 75 percent complete. Repairs to the Richmond station, which covers the Christiansted area, is almost halfway complete, Encarnacion said.
The $2 million renovation effort to those stations, and lesser repairs at two others, began in late November and are expected to be finished in February and March. The government will pay for the repairs with $1.5 million in asset recovery funds and another $500,000 from the general fund, Encarnacion said, adding that work on stations in the St. Thomas-St. John district will begin in a few weeks.
For residents of the east end repairs to the Cotton Valley station can’t come soon enough. With the station closed, emergencies to the east are normally answered from the Richmond station. But with work on that facility ongoing the Richmond station has temporarily moved to Peter’s Rest, which means a lengthy response time for some east-end areas.
In addition to problems with the fire stations themselves, staffing and funding have been challenges. At least 18 St. Croix firefighters retired over the past year, and overtime budgeted for fiscal year 2000 was used up by last July.
Those problems, however, will be addressed with the approval to hire 11 new firefighters, Encarnacion said.
"Not only would this new hiring add manpower, but it will also assist in reducing re-occurring overtime," he said. "We are excited and anticipate the firefighting class of 2001 to commence by mid-March."
Meanwhile, Fire Services has received new, lightweight self contained breathing apparatus that give firefighters double the air time for extended fire rescue situations. Funding for the purchase of equipment and supplies comes from a recent $1 surcharge on local telephone bills. Fire Services has spent $60,000 generated from the surcharge on equipment, supplies and repairs over the last year.
