As the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait.
And for members of the Bow police, fire and emergency management departments, the wait is over.
After many years of trying to get approval from town residents for a new safety building at Town Meeting, the measure was finally pushed through last year. Work began on the project last August, and the three departments began using the building last month.
Last week, the town held an open house at the Bow Safety Center on Knox Road and you better believe we stopped by to see how things turned out. And we weren’t the only ones.
The place was mobbed with residents looking to get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at what the newest building in town is all about.
Like we had hoped for going in, there was a nice spread of cookies and drinks to enjoy, but that wasn’t the only reason we went.
There was a long line for tours given by members of the police and fire departments, but it was worth the wait to see the inner workings of the 24,000-square-foot center. Plus, we didn’t want to have to get arrested and booked to get the tour.
First impression is just the amount of space that the departments have to work with. We didn’t see the old digs, but from what we heard, things were a little tight – not to mention a bit on the dysfunctional side.
Fortunately, that is no longer the case.
Starting with the police department, we walked through a long hallway that now allows each officer in the department to have an office. There’s a very organized records area and a large patrol room for the officers on duty.
When the officers do make an arrest, there’s a secure garage bay to safely bring the perp into the station.
They now have three holding cells – two for adults and one for juveniles – compared to when they had to just handcuff people to a bench at the old station.
The processing room is much bigger, has a fingerprint and breathalyzer station, and will soon feature a cage to securely process those who may not want to be there.
The locker rooms are really nice, as is the weight room, where most everything that’s in it was donated. Actually, a lot of the stuff in the new safety center was donated by a whole host of organizations.
For the fire department, the move has been a huge boost to the morale of the firefighters. Since the old department was not suitable for sleeping, the crew had to sleep in a building across the parking lot, which made responding to calls much more difficult. It also didn’t have a shower.
Now, there are three bunk rooms for them to sleep in – since they work 24-hour shifts – that are right next to the eight-bay garage that can house all the trucks and ambulances.
Considering that they must spend an entire day at the safety center, except for when they’re out on calls, the break room is a place where they can comfortably cook meals and hang out during downtown, that is if there is any.
Instead of relying on their pagers to alert them when there is a call, the department includes an alert system in every room that will make sure they know exactly the moment a call comes in.
The center is also home to the emergency management operations, so if there’s another major weather event (remember the Mother’s Day Flood of 2006) or the ice storm a few years later, they will have everything they need under one roof.
So to say the least, we came away quite impressed with the new space. It was a big investment for the town ($4.7 million) that took quite a lot of time to get going. But now the people of Bow can rest assured that the departments that keep them safe are operating in the most state of the art building around.
