Southampton Fire District Debuts Plan for a Water Mill Fire Station

When a massive fire broke out at a home in Water Mill on the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend, volunteers who live in the hamlet had another kind of battle on their hands before they could turn their attention to the blaze: traffic.

Members living in the hamlet had to try to get to their apparatus at the fire station on Hampton Road in Southampton Village, then turn back east and race to the scene. Anyone ever stuck in the “trade parade” or holiday congestion on the stretch from the County Road 39 terminus to the hamlet’s downtown knows it can take 10 minutes to move just a mile.

Some 18 years ago, when the Southampton Board of Fire Commissioners was formed, members were tasked with finding a site suitable for a fire station in Water Mill. On Thursday, June 22, commissioners David Price and Roy Wines appeared before the Southampton Town Planning Board with a concept they believe is the right one.

The fire district purchased a 4.3-acre property located at 319 Upper Seven Ponds Road and showed the board a plan for a 4,620-square-foot fire station. The goal of the work session, Wines said, was to start a dialogue with the board and the community.

The commissioners will hold a meeting open to the public to offer further details of the plan next month.

Environmental planner Michael Schiano of Inter-Science Research Associates in Southampton offered an introduction on behalf of the fire district. The scheme calls for a two-story fire station. The first floor will be predominantly devoted to a garage with two bays that can host apparatus parked two deep. The second floor will provide meeting space. It is not large enough to conduct training classes, officials said.

A fire station is exempt from the board’s presubmission requirements. Nevertheless, officials asked for the work session debut to garner feedback before a formal application is filed.

There currently is a residence and outbuildings on the site, as well as wetlands. Schiano said the structures will be removed, and the plan places the station the required distance from the wetlands.

Built to accommodate tall apparatus, at 35 feet, the building will be taller than a typical house. Still, said Ben Chaleff of Chaleff & Rogers Architects, “We did everything we could do to place it in a natural, low place on the property … It sits into the landscape as much as possible.”

A variance or determination that a fire station is a special case will have to be procured from the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Rather than the huge cement driveway typical of some fire stations, there will be three separate curb cuts to the property, with landscaping in between. The developer is considering a stucco finish and looking for durable, low-maintenance materials that are harmonious with the neighborhood.

Situated near the intersection of Upper Seven Ponds Road and Head of Pond Road, the $1.65 million property is, said Schiano, “Centrally located in a residential area in order to properly serve the area.” The intent is to provide more protection for more people.

There are weight restrictions for trucks on nearby Old Mill Road; Wines said firetrucks avoid it. “It’s not a primary route,” he said.

Forty parking spaces are proposed. The number is based on the size of the building and the potential for occasional meetings, but not daily needs, Wines explained.

It will likely house, Price said, “an engine or two, a tanker, brush truck and utility vehicle.” But where apparatus goes is at the discretion of the fire department chief.

Being able to have a station near where volunteers live, and available to serve eastern and northern sections of the east side of town, will “cut response times considerably,” Price continued.

The drive to the firehouse on Hampton Road, then back to a fire in Water Mill is, he said, “an extreme waste of time.”

When the fire over Memorial Day weekend called for additional apparatus, volunteers had to drive engines from the station located in Shinnecock Hills, navigating seven miles in heavy holiday traffic. The traffic is there year round and worsens during the summer, Wines said.

Planning Board member Kate Fullam said she’d like to see data relating to the number of calls in the area and response times. In all, the district handles 1,000 calls per year. Between 10 and 15 percent of them would be categorized as serious, Price said.

The district has explored a lot of different sites, he said, “and we’ve been turned away multiple times.”

He noted that prior to 1960, when the original Hampton Road fire station was constructed, the district operated out of the brick firehouse on Windmill Lane in Southampton Village. Another station was built in Shinnecock Hills in 1970. As the community has grown, and farm fields have become residential developments, the district has had to grow to provide protection.

As the discussion drew to a close, Planning Board Chairwoman Jacqui Lofaro noted that the board had received letters critiquing the plan and asking questions. She noted members of the Water Mill Citizens Advisory Committee were in attendance and encouraged district officials to reach out to them.

“We want them on board,” Price agreed.

On Friday, Rachel Verno, chair of the CAC, weighed in with an email statement: “The fire district has always had the complete support of the CAC and the entire community,” she wrote. “However, there has been a lack of transparency with those most impacted and this rural residential neighborhood is not appropriate for a project this extensive.”

The district will hold an open meeting to discuss details of the plan on July 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Water Mill Community House.