Celebration Held for Renovations of Glenville Fire House

Greenwich residents, town officials and career and volunteer firefighters gathered at the Glenville Fire House Saturday afternoon for a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of renovating and expanding the facility.

The $2.8 million project — which broke ground in 2009 but has been in the planning stages since 2004 — includes the addition of 4,285 square feet of space, including two new garage bays on the west side of the building, as well as a new wing on the east side housing a meeting room for training and other purposes. The building was constructed in 1953, so the project also included updating the infrastructure of its utilities.

“This beautifully renovated and expanded fire station will serve Glenville and surrounding communities for many decades,” said First Selectman Peter Tesei during the event, which attracted about 100 town residents. “The Greenwich Fire Department and the Glenville Volunteer Fire Company have the most state of the art facility to house the critical equipment necessary to ensure life safety for all residents.”

“This project would not be possible without the commitment on the part of the BET/RTM to our town’s 15 Capital Plan,” Tesei added. “Through dozens of meetings before committees, the land use agencies and neighborhood groups, the mission was completed and we are here to celebrate it.”

As Tesei spoke, children played on the shiny fire trucks, which were prominently on display in front of the fire house, as parents looked on, while department volunteers cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill set up on the firehouse's lawn. The ladder on the department’s truck was fully extended and an American Flag at the top waved gently in the cool breeze.

Alan Monelli, DPW Superintendent Building, Construction & Maintenance, who oversaw the project, said he was pleased with how it turned out, even though it had been in works “basically since 2004.”

“Wow, I never thought this day would come,” Monelli said. “It seems like it’s been an eternity —but thanks to everyone’s efforts we now have a modern facility that brings this department up to 21st century standards.”

Monelli said it was a challenging project that involved a lot of details, including equipment considerations that aren’t necessarily represented in the project documents. He thanked Wernert Construction Management LLC, as well as Monelli and the Dept. of Public Works, for bringing the project in “on time and under budget.”

“It’s not always easy to design a plan around an existing building,” he said, adding  the project had to be completed in several phases in order to keep the fire house operational during construction.

District Fire Chief James Heavey, who will be retiring at the end of this month, said the fire house “is a focal point for this community, and we’re going to be good stewards of it.”

During the renovations, the two to three career firefighters who reside at the firehouse 24-7 had to live in trailers behind the building — which was particularly difficult during the winter months.

“To Chief [Peter] Siecienski, Assistant Chief [Robert] kick, GVFC Chief Heavey, Company President [Sanford] Kornberg and all the members who helped shepherd this through the town approval process, thank you for your commitment and dedication in seeing it through,” Tesei said.

“And to Wernert Construction — a local firm that so ably handled this restoration and expansion — job well done. Hats off to Bruse Wernet and Max Wernet and their team of professionals. Finally, to the taxpayers of Greenwich, please visit and take a look around the station, I think you will agree our money was well spent.”

The event also included an invocation and benediction led by Father Frank Winn, Pastor of St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Glenville; and a flag retirement/raising ceremony featuring the department’s honor guard.