WESTBROOK – Last Saturday marked the end of an era in Westbrook’s firefighting history when the city formally decommissioned the Mechanic Street call company fire station.

The station was closed in a new “unification” effort initiated by Mayor Colleen Hilton and the fire department to house career firefighters and call company firefighters under one roof at the city’s Public Safety Building on Main Street.

However, the event marked the close of 120 years of firefighting history at the Mechanic Street site. Although the present fire station dates back to the 1970s, it was built on the site of old station constructed in 1890, according to Mike Sanphy, president of the Westbrook Historical Society. That original Mechanic Street Fire Station was the first organized fire company in the city of Westbrook, Sanphy said.

“It’s the end of an era,” he said. “It really is.”

The former station now will be used by the city as a maintenance garage for vehicles. Hilton said the property also has the potential for being sold as part of possible future redevelopment in that area.

The mayor described the brief 10 a.m. decommissioning ceremony at the station on Aug. 14 as “one more step forward in transitioning the (fire) department.”

However, she and other observers also said, the ceremony was emotional for city firefighters and others who attended.

“It was touching,” said City Councilor Paul Emery, who attended. “There were a few tears.”

But he and Councilor Michael Foley, who also was present at the event, said they felt proud of the way firefighters conducted themselves and of their history of service at the station.

“I was very proud of them for their work,” Foley said. “They put on a nice ceremony.”

Among fire officials involved in the ceremony were Fire Chief Michael Pardue, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Caron and Capt. Randy Mitchell.

Hilton, who spoke at the event, said the ceremony included the lowering of the station’s flags and the driving of the station’s firetrucks from that station to the new building.

The event also included a recounting of the station’s long history.

Sanphy, who did not attend the event, said the 1890 fire station was built for the Valentine Hose Company. The company was named after Leander Valentine, the city’s first mayor, Sanphy said. It was the first organized company in Westbrook, which became a town in 1814 but didn’t become a city until 1890, he said.

The building was torn down in the 1970s because it was deemed unsafe, Sanphy said.

Emery said the ceremony on Saturday made him feel very proud remembering “all the years of service from generations of firemen and EMTs (emergency medical technicians).”

Hilton said she recognized how much the station meant to firefighters.

“Certainly it was an emotional day for them,” the mayor said.

But she described the event as a “very class act by the fire department staff” and said that the focus was “all very positive and upbeat and moving forward.”

She said her remarks focused on the commitment she made to the community to close the station to achieve “better levels of service and communication.”

Hilton, who just took office in January, said that when she was campaigning, residents asked her why the city was still paying to keep the Mechanic Street station open when the new Public Safety Building had room for the firefighters there. She said residents told her they wanted her to make good on a promise made when city voters approved the bond for the public safety building that the Mechanic Street station would close to cut costs.

Also, the closing is also related to efforts by the mayor and the fire department to change the department’s image following charges of sexual harassment by two female firefighters.

One of those firefighters, Lisa Theberge, returned to the job earlier this summer. She and another firefighter, Kathy Rogers, had been out on paid administrative leave since September 2008 due to what they said was a hostile work environment. The two women also have a lawsuit pending against the city, and Rogers has not returned to the job.

Department members also recently completed sexual harassment prevention training. The department also embarked on its unification effort, designed to bring the city’s career and call firefighters under one roof. The mayor said that there is no difference between the skills needed when call company firefighters and career firefighters show up for an emergency. Housing them under one roof will lead to better training and communication, the mayor said.

Hilton said she believes the unification is “critical” to the fepartment’s moving forward.

Pardue and Caron did not return requests for comment by the American Journal’s deadline.

Emery and Foley said they support the unification plan. Foley said that the city’s firefighters “should all be trained the same.”

Mayor Colleen Hilton addresses firefighters on Saturday at a ceremony marking the formal decommissioning of the city’s Mechanic Street call company fire station. The closing marks an end of 120 years of firefighting history at the site.
Photo courtesy of Paul Emery