SACO — He’d been hearing it for 30 years: There’ll be a new station soon. Just a few more years; 10, max. Have patience.

After three decades, Saco Deputy Fire Chief Ed Dube’s patience was rewarded. On Tuesday, Dube stood inside the massive bays of the new fire station on North Street that will house the department’s fire trucks, looked around at the spacious storage lockers and state-of-the-art drainage system, and smiled.

“We needed it,” said Dube. “We needed it.”

Saco voters agreed, and in 2010 they approved the construction of the new station, which started functioning as the active fire rescue facility on Thursday. On Thursday morning, and throughout the day, moving crews helped fire personnel lug essential equipment to the North Street location, effectively heralding the start of a new era for the Saco Fire Department.

The transition, however, won’t be without its share of difficulty. While the bulk of the move took place on Thursday, moving everything over into the new station will be a weeks-long process, during which time personnel will be responsible for essentially maintaining the functionality of two working fire stations.

If there is an emergency call that demands a response, said Dube, crews will be ready to handle it.

“It’s going to be a stressful time,” he said. “We’ve got to keep two departments running. It’s something that’s not going to happen in one day.

“I’ve been bringing stuff over the past few weeks, but there’s a lot of stuff to come.”

Fire Chief John Duross estimates that most of the transition will be complete by the end of April or the beginning of May.

“We have to take a fully functioning department from the old site to the new site in (that time),” said Duross. “But that’s not a huge problem for us. What we’ve essentially created is redundant systems.”

Duross recalls that it was around 1978 when then-Fire Chief Kenneth Pendleton approached the town about the possibility of building a new station. The need for one, according to Duross, has been undeniable. Conditions at the old station are so inadequate that, in order for fire trucks to fit properly into their bays, the side mirrors have to be retrofitted such that they hug the sides of the vehicles. Otherwise, backing the trucks into their spaces would result in the mirrors being ripped off by the sides of the narrow bay openings.

In 1998, the North Street property was purchased. Voters approved construction in 2010, and now, 10 months later, the long-promised and long-awaited new facility serves as the primary base of operations for fire rescue crews in Saco.

“We were told it was going to be a 10-month build,” said Duross. “It’s on time and slightly under budget.”

It’s also an exceedingly modern building. Touring the facility on Tuesday, Dube said the department will go from having one and 1/4 bathrooms to 10 full bathrooms. The bays are much larger ”“ eliminating the need to customize the trucks’ side mirrors ”“ as are the meeting rooms and living quarters. The building is climate-controlled via geothermal heating, and water in the water tanks is both heated and cooled using solar power. There are also hydrants in the back of the property as well as a pond, allowing the department to conduct most training operations on-site, including annual mandatory ice rescue training.

The new station also boasts expanded room for display areas in which medals, mementos, and artifacts from the station’s history can be displayed, along with a fire truck from 1848.

Mark Kelley, a Saco firefighter for 17 years, said the department is both excited and relieved to be housed in its new quarters.

“It’s definitely state-of-the-art,” said Kelley. “I’m kind of excited to move. Everybody’s looking forward to it.”

Still, as the department looks toward the future, saying goodbye to the old station will be bittersweet.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Duross, “but there’s memories that we’re all leaving behind.”

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.