Petersburg mayor asks assembly to decide on permanent fire training site near Station 1

Mayor Bob Lynn asked Tuesday for the Petersburg Borough Assembly to decide at its next meeting whether to permanently move the fire department's training facility from Scow Bay to a site near Fire Station 1. He also asked the borough manager to bring funding options by the first meeting in December.

The props must leave Scow Bay by Nov. 30, when the boatyard project goes to a contractor, Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins said. His report describes the burn tower as a three-story metal tower where crews light and put out fires, and the container prop as six 40-foot shipping containers converted to look like the inside of a house. Both will be stacked at the 14th Street pole yard, out of reach for volunteers until a permanent site is built.

"They cannot go back to Scow Bay," Fire Chief Daniel Byrd said. He said the tower may not survive being taken apart and reassembled, and a new one would cost $400,000 to $600,000. Assistant Chief David Berg said staff estimated a new tower and site work could top $1 million.

Hankins said a marine-industrial overlay the assembly approved last year, tied to an Army Corps of Engineers permit, limits the site to marine use. Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the borough might seek a variance.

Hankins said losing the facility would cost Petersburg about 0.37 points on its fire insurance rating, enough to push it from Class 4 to Class 5 on a 1-to-10 scale. Each jump raises property insurance rates about 10%, though not every insurer uses the rating. Byrd said that drop would follow if the facility is not back within 12 months. Hankins said there is no hard time limit.

Members Scott Newman and Jeff Meucci asked about harbor money. "The money could come out of the harbor fund and would not have to be paid back," Giesbrecht said, though he could not say how that would affect planned harbor work.

Hankins presented two permanent sites: one next to Station 1 on Haugen Drive, which firefighters prefer because they gather there before drills, and one on 14th Street beside the tree dump, which would need a modular building with bathrooms and storage.

Member James Valentine said the Station 1 site makes the most sense, and Meucci said he would support a motion next meeting making it the top priority. Lynn said funding could come in phases, with part of it through grants.