Friends of Public Safety - Vote YES
Major structural cracks in critical areas. This is only one of multiple locations that are as bad or worse.
Cracks in concrete floor are in all locations. The floor was built many decades ago for apparatus that weighed much less. These extensive layers of cracks are causing unstoppable settling and splitting of concrete walls. Ground water bubbles up with heavy rain
Floor drains do not work. FFs get wet socks when changing into gear; ambulance crews stand in water when plugging the ambulance in.
Leaks in ceiling, black mold in insulation. Mold testing was performed in March due to health issues with several employees. The tests were positive results for black mold.
Garage doors do not seal, increasing heating costs. These are the same bays that staff have to sleep in on old army cots next to engines. We are unable to retain good people due to bad conditions.
Heating system is archaic. FD office is either "on" or "off" with little to no control. There is no central air. In the winter windows often are opened to keep temps in check.
This crack is below the stairs leading from the ground floor to the police station. It starts at the bottom as a small crack, but it is about a full inch wide at the top. The wall is literally peeling away from the opposite side. Light visible from other side. A structural analysis showed that the PD is separating from the FD and sliding towards Rte 62.
Cramped Apparatus Bays
The average firefighter in full gear cannot get to the fire truck's side doors. They must open the bay door, pull the truck out, close the bay door, and THEN access the other side.
NO Clearance Behind the Apparatus
Injuries have already occurred due to tight quarters. Injuries can result in massive law suits.
Chief's and Staff Office Space
This is the total space for the fire chief and day crew of two people. The available area is little more than a large closet. The chief has no privacy when working with confidential info, the single remaining desk must be shared with the other two day-shift crew.
Cramped and unsafe quarters are one of the primary reasons in a volunteer service why we cannot attract or keep good people. Keeping Princeton Fire to an on-call/volunteer service keeps the Town's (and the taxpayer) costs down.
Who wants to stay in conditions like those shown here! We are lucky there have been no claims; we meet NONE of the many state and federal standards.
Detainee Holding Area
Confined arrests are shackled to this hard steel bench for as long as 6 hours. The only bathroom is shown in the upper left; per state law, its door must remain open when is use by detainees. This is the MAIN HALLWAY of the department!
Booking Area Near Detainee Bench
This is not secure, leaves staff and the public open to abuse by the detainee, and threatens serious liability issues for the Town.
Primary Office area for Staff & Public in Police Station
Note the hard steel bench at the opposite end. If a detainee present and shackled, it can be extremely awkward, embarassing, and potentially unsafe (if a violent offender) for everyone.
Multi-Use Area
Due to lack of space, this room is used as a break room, report writing room, witness and detainee interview room. Also unsecured, this exposes the Town to liability.
Radio Room and Vaccine Storage Area
Floors are damp and flooding. This is our radio room with our Town's vaccine storage refrigerator. This area is below the PD sally port where water drips down from above.
Only One of Two Available Closets
This room was converted from a bathroom; the other closet is even smaller! That's all there is for unsecured storage.
Concrete cracks extending through tile floor in PD booking area.
Multiple, and serious, cracks in the poured concrete exist here and in the FD. The PD section of the building is separating from the FD section and sliding towards Hubbardston Rd. The cracks shown in these photos are only a very small sampling of what exists.
Floor in front of PD secure storage area.
Inspect this picture carefully and you'll see it shows the floor in the sally port is sinking into the radio room located below. The orange was marked during an inspection. This is why water is leaking into the radio room/vaccine storage area.
It is partly because of the conditions shown above that we are not able to retain good police officers and staff. The Town spends money to train people, who later go to nicer areas. Attrition is an expense we all bear as residents.
The above pics are of our present ambulance. It suffers from road salt corrosion. We have had to repaint this truck several times to pass inspections, for over $15,000.
The drains in the equipment bays are permanently closed. We cannot wash our very expensive equipment, some with replacement costs over one-million dollars.
We will be getting a new ambulance in a couple months which cost the town almost $400,000. The next one will be substantially more. The future of this equipment is bleak without a modern fire station.
Inhospitable sleeping area
During critical events FFs have no choice but to sleep in the area that will not drain, between apparatus, in a poorly temperature controlled area.
NO Clearance Above Equipment
This is an unsafe and potentialy liablous working area. There is no space to clean, pack hose, perform maintenance, etc. Trucks must be moved out of the bay, even in the winter.