East Braintree Fire Station Expanding to Hold Platform Ladder Truck

Town officials are finalizing a plan to renovate the East Braintree fire station so that it can house a ladder truck that should arrive early next year and would otherwise be too large to fit into the building's existing bays.

Last week, Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, announced an amendment to the fiscal year 2013 House budget that appropriates $50,000 for the station upgrade, which if approved by both chambers and the governor would add to the approximately $300,000 the town has set aside for the project.

"For a long time [the station] has been without a ladder truck," Fire Chief Kevin Murphy said. "It's a tight fit."

The new platform ladder truck will be the first in East Braintree in a decade. Its $925,000 cost is being covered by $450,000 from a settlement  and capital funding approved by the .

Murphy said he will likely put in the order for the truck in early July and that it will take eight to nine months for custom construction and delivery. 

What shape the renovation will take remains up in the air. The town could create two bays out of three, expanding one and lowering the floor to fit the truck, or it could build out a fourth, larger bay.

The second option would be more straightforward and cause less disruption for firefighters and equipment, Murphy said. The mayor has yet to make a decision on how to proceed, Chief of Staff and Operations Peter Morin said.

Two weeks ago, a new engine truck went into service in East Braintree, and an older emergency vehicle will be donated to the 911 Fund, Murphy said, a nonprofit that sends used equipment from the United States to be refurbished for use in countries with less modern firefighting capabilities.