Fire Chief Scott Dennett recently told selectmen he is proposing and addition to the Dixfield Fire Company station at 38 Main St. in Dixfield to provide an emergency operations center during natural disasters and provide warming and cooling space during times of excessive heat and cold. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

DIXFIELD — Fire Chief Scott Dennett is proposing an addition to the Dixfield Fire Company station at 38 Main St. to provide an emergency operations center during natural disasters and warming and cooling space.

At the Sept. 23 Select Board meeting, Dennett said that last spring, “I took advantage of an opportunity to discuss some of those needs with an architectural firm for the sole purpose of establishing what building requirements and costs might be. I had a follow-up meeting on Aug. 29 to discuss further. Both of these were at no cost to the town.”

It was recently discussed with the board the possibility of federal monies to assist adding to the station, and the need for rudimentary plans in order to submit an application.

Dennett said they might need as many as four or five parking spaces.

Town Manager Alicia Conn suggested also that the island between the rows in the parking lot could be removed if additional parking is needed in the future.

The town purchasing policy requires approval for requesting proposals from firms for development of plans, he said.

Initial costs are estimated at between $5,000 and $7,500, which would come from reserve accounts.

Dennett said he has told the board over the past few years of a need for improvement to the fire station.

In order to be prepared for federal or state funding for these improvements, he said, “We want to have a basic plan in place so we can go forth and say, ‘This is what we’re aiming towards.’ It’s not final blueprints or anything like that, but it should be a plan that could be put into play a year from now, five years from now, or whatever it is. But the purpose of it is that we would have something to move forward so that we can hopefully secure some federal funding.”

Dennett said a lot of fire departments in the state are getting additions, or new buildings, through some of the congressional funding. “If that comes about in the next cycle, hopefully, with having a plan, we can move forward to them and get our name in the hat.”

Dennett said he brought to the Select Board in March of 2021 information on the need for improvements such as multiple bathrooms with shower facilities, a room for cleaning contaminated self-contained breathing air packs, personal protective equipment, an adequate radio room, equipment storage, electrical upgrades and floor replacement..

In September 2022, he again brought up similar needs, and in 2023 there was concern of cancer in the fire service and how proper cleaning of equipment is essential to help eliminate health risks. In 2023, the department offered voluntary cancer screenings for firefighters.

“Thank you for this,” Dennet said. “While not as many took advantage of it as I would liked, many did, and the screenings provides as excellent baseline for the future.”