BUCKFIELD — Some said it was wholly unnecessary and at best extravagant, but when town manager Cindy Dunn, choking back tears, unveiled the new fire-rescue station on Sunday, there was nothing but applause. 

Overcoming budgeting shortfalls, scheduling setbacks and debate, town officials held an open house for a few dozen residents at the new, $1 million Buckfield Fire-Rescue Station, over 18 months after construction began. 

In a town with an annual budget landing well shy of the project’s cost, eyebrows were raised when town officials proposed tearing down the old, decrepit fire station in 2013 and borrowing money to construct a new one.

The decision, according to fire Chief Tim Brooks, tore at two incompatible sensibilities that were equally strong: saving taxpayers money while saving their lives. 

“The ones who are most upset at you are the ones who don’t yet know they need you,” Brooks said. 

The months preceding construction saw that tension play out throughout town. There were rumors. Comments made to fire-rescue personnel. Exasperated voices raised at selectmen’s meetings.

Unrelated, though a gauge of its mood, the town had to twice ask voters to fund the rescue department after its budget was reduced at town meeting last summer, leaving the department in free-fall.

Though funding was eventually restored, rescue Chief Floyd “Chip” Richardson said the “small-town politics” surrounding the situation eventually lead to the resignation of then-rescue Chief Lisa Bennett.

They also hung over the project to complete the departments’ new home. When the project began to come in over bid, selectmen refused to ask voters for more money, despite cutting a central air conditioning system and other items the Fire Department believed were essential to the work space. 

In March, Richardson said morale was at an all-time low. Like grumblings of discontent over the cost of the fire-station, Richardson said there was little to be done to bring down the cost. Last December, someone stripped the wiring off the walls. 

“I think there’s misconception over what’s mandated now,” Richardson said, noting that the building, as town property, is held to more stringent codes than private homes. 

Volunteering became the financially and politically opportune route for amenities not otherwise affordable. Employees saved the project over $9,000 painting the offices. Brooks built racks for gear. Nearly everyone is donating 24 hours of their wages to buy appliances. At one point, Brooks said he was willing to resign to avoid a conflict of interest so he could build the building himself at a fraction of the cost.

“Almost every time I visited they were here, doing something,” Dunn said. 

The building will house the fire and rescue departments, with 23 and 18 paid, on-call members, respectively. During emergencies, it can act as a disaster relief center.

Employees expressed awe compared to what they had. The previous station was over 60 years old, rundown and moldy. Fumes from idling trucks flooded the offices. The conditions were so appalling, Brooks feared a lawsuit. Rehabbing the old building was projected to be costlier than starting anew.

Overestimations and volunteering paid-off: some of the stricken amenities, such as the kitchen and central air conditioning, were added back in. 

Employees here are happy to forget what was. Those firefighters not showing off the engines or giving tours cooked bacon-infused hamburgers and red hot dogs. Someone made cookies, cupcakes, potato salad and a full summertime spread eaten on plastic plates with plastic cutlery. 

Among those who turned out was Ben Lary, 4, of Buckfield, who ran into firetruck after firetruck wide-eyed, pretending to steer and asking everyone taller than himself if they’d seen the Smoky the dog, the day’s mascot, who wasn’t in the bouncy house, smoke-room demonstration or the ambulances. 

Ben’s father, Peter, carrying his even younger daughter, looked on as his son covered his ears while an EMT blasted the sirens of an ambulance crawling with kids, and raised his free hand into the air in celebration.

“He’s going to sleep tonight,” he cheered. 

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