After two years of planning and months of construction, the rear entrance to the central Fire-Rescue Department building on Church Street is nearly complete.
“I took a few years to get the money we needed, but it turned out really nice,” Fire Chief Robert Sideleau II said Tuesday during a walk-through of the renovation.
While some of the $302,000 renovation can’t easily seen by the public, the most distinctive feature of the rear entrance is a small area designed to showcase a vintage hand pump that was restored by several of the department’s firefighters. At night, the hand pump, which has red and white spotlights trained on it, can easily be seen from West Street.
“It’s really nice to see it when driving on West Street,” Sideleau said, adding that wood flooring from the building’s attic will eventually be put down under the vintage hand pump.