Rochester-area firehouse upgrade targets health and safety.
A look into the St. Paul Blvd. Firehouse’s bunk room
On a tour of the St. Paul Blvd. Firehouse, guests saw the firefighters’ bunk room lack of privacy, a reason for the proposed new firehouse.
The St. Paul Boulevard Fire Department plans to build a new firehouse to meet modern safety and staffing needs.
Since the staff has grown beyond the original design, the current firehouse no longer fits the needs of the staff or the proper health and safety standards — according to NFPA 1500 safety standards and cancer prevention standards. It was built in 1990.
A key bond vote for the new firehouse is Dec. 30 at the station.
Current station lacks private bunks and proper decon zones
As the station has moved from a two-station model to one station, absorbing staff from its main station, its apparatus, equipment and training needs have evolved. The St. Paul Boulevard Fire Department now houses an Irondequoit ambulance crew as well.
Right now, the firehouse does not have any private gender-inclusive bunkrooms, frequently has plumbing and HVAC failures and only contains one shower.
There is lack of space for proper storage, fitness and wellness and training and learning.
About the St. Paul Boulevard Fire District
The district serves 24,000 residents and responds to approximately 2,000 calls a year. At the station, there are 22 career firefighters and 23 volunteer firefighters that provide aid to the St. Paul Boulevard district and surrounding fire districts — as a part of a fire district mutual aid program.
The district also provides fire prevention training for more than 2,000 school age students yearly, CPR training to community members youth sports coaches and community organizations, car seat install services and oversees a junior firefighters program.
“Over the past year, we’ve also donated over 500 children’s winter jackets to children in need in our community to keep them warm for the winter,” said Chief Ken Stavalone. “And our firefighters, through our fundraising efforts, have raised over $20,000 in the past few years for local community organizations and nonprofits.”
In 2024, the St. Paul Boulevard Fire Department earned Insurance Services Office (ISO) class 2 rating, ranking in the top 5% across the nation. The ISO is the organization that tells insurance companies what the fire department rating is. The better the fire department rating is, the better a resident’s homeowner and business insurance rates are.
Department cites cancer and heart risks in design overhaul
With the firehouse’s current setup, there are no proper hot, warm and cold decontamination zones or dedicated ventilated bunker gear storage to help get contaminates off quickly.
According to 2024 CDC data, firefighters are 14% more likely to die from cancer than the general population. Male firefighters have an 81% higher chance of prostate cancer and an 83% higher chance of melanoma. Female firefighters have a 39% higher risk of dying from breast cancer and are 500% more likely to get cervical cancer.
Due to the production of furniture changing over the years — using more synthetic materials, modern fires produce a lot more carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. When CO and HCN are absorbed into the body, it creates extreme cancer-causing effects.
According to safety guidelines, showering within the hour of getting back from a fire helps get the toxins off the body. Due to the current firehouse only having one shower, it is difficult to protect each St. Paul Boulevard firefighter from said toxins.
According to Chief Stavalone, having a proper space for St. Paul Boulevard firefighters to work out is important because 45% of firefighter fatalities are caused by heart related diseases and heart attack — about 217 firefighter deaths a year.
Currently, the firehouse’s gym is spread across multiple rooms in the station. However, the main gym is in a former storage room connected to where the firetrucks are stored.
One member of the St. Paul Boulevard District said that on some days while working out that he could smell the diesel from the trucks, which makes it hard to finish his exercise.
Project includes Pole Barn Training Facility and modern bays
With the help of a building committee comprised of department’s five fire commissioners, Chief Stavalone, career and volunteer firefighters and community members, the proposed project will include modern apparatus bays, private bunks, gender-inclusive facilities and the Pole Barn Training Facility.
The training facility, paid for by the department’s reserve funds, will support operations during construction and act as year-round training and storage while saving $1.6 million in project costs.
According to the department, the project won’t exceed $21.8 million, as the number already includes demolition, building, furniture, equipment and contingency costs.
“We will not exceed this. We will not go to $25 million. Legally, we cannot,” Chief Stavalone said when speaking about the expected all in cost of the new building. “We’re hoping that that goes down.”
Vote on $21.8M project set for Dec. 30
- The projected timeline of phase 1 — Pole Barn — will take place from January to June 2026.
- If the vote goes through, phase 2 —the construction for the main station — will be from July 2026 to fall 2027.
- To help fund the firehouse project, residents in the neighborhood would pay an additional fire tax of 33 cents per $1,000 assessed value, averaging around $62 per year per household.
The bond vote for the project is on Dec. 30 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m at the St. Paul Boulevard Firehouse. Location: 433 Cooper Road, Rochester. For more information, visit https://spbfd.com
— As a Rochester native, Justice Marbury entered the world of journalism to create work where voices like hers were heard — the voices of minority communities. Marbury covers small businesses, neighborhood concerns, and the interesting people who live in Rochester neighborhoods. As the 19th Ward reporter, she has helped implement community outreach ideas by asking what people in various communities want to read about themselves in addition to regular news. Contact her on Instagram @justice_marbury and by email at jmarbury@gannett.com.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.