Byram Fire Station Renovation Enters Final Stages

GREENWICH, CT — The long anticipated renovation of the Byram Fire Station is almost complete, according to a Facebook post from the Greenwich Fire Department.

The apparatus floor was poured last week, and crews are preparing to move in sometime in July, according to the Facebook post. Both the volunteer and career crews who work out of the station have been relocated while work is ongoing. Engine 3 was moved to the temporary building on Horseneck Lane, while the volunteers were operating out of headquarters on Havemeyer Place downtown.

Construction to modernize the almost 70-year-old building began last summer. The interior has been stripped and remodeled to code, and it will be more energy efficient. The day-room and the kitchen space for the career staff was expanded, and the upstairs area for both the career staff and the volunteers was improved as well, along with the addition of some office spaces.

The two middle bays where engines respond out of is now a drive through from Delavan Avenue through the back of the building. Apparatus can now drive behind the fire station and pull straight in instead of trying to back in off Delavan and creating congestion on the roadway.

In paying homage to the 1952 design, the facade of the building is being preserved.

Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo said he's excited to see the finished project.

"This has been something that's been talked about for a long time. I'm really happy to see it come to fruition now and see the project completed soon," Camillo said, noting that the fire station is another example of one of the many exciting projects on the western side of town.

"This is just another in the long line of enhancements that we're seeing in the Byram section of town. This comes on the heels of the beautiful new pool at Byram Park, the new library, the new New Lebanon School, the new pocket parks over on South Water Street. We're very excited about what's going on there."

Volunteer District Chief Chief David Walko said he can't wait to move back in to the building.

"It's extremely exciting. It's a great time for our membership and for the people that we protect in Byram," Walko said. "It's a great space for both career staff and our volunteers that will be responding out of the Byram Fire House."

Walko hopes to begin the move-in process soon, but that won't be complete until July most likely. The completion of the new building this year coincides with the Byram Volunteer Fire Department's 125th anniversary. Walko said after everyone is back and settled, there will be plans to celebrate the anniversary with an official reopening and re-dedication of the building.

Details will be released "in the very near future" according to Walko.