Orland’s volunteer fire department is almost moved into its newly built station along Route 1, a roughly $3.9 million project designed to meet the needs of modern firefighting and prepare for how it might change in the future.

The new station replaces a small, moldy building from the 1970s that barely fit fire trucks, had poor drainage that limited maintenance and posed other health risks.

“It’s a big investment, but it also saves investment,” Chief Robert Conary said.

The new building is climate-controlled and energy efficient with ample space for larger, modern fire trucks, meetings and dispatch.

It’s also designed to respond to changes in firefighting — including new knowledge about firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens and PFAS — while trying to anticipate how emergency services might continue to change in rural Maine over the coming decades.

Numerous other Hancock County towns need to replace their aging fire stations or are starting the process to do so. Among them, Hancock broke ground on a new station this month, Brooksville is fundraising for an additional one, and Deer Isle recently revealed early plans for a new station.

Orland’s new fire station, seen in late April, was designed to manage the risks firefighters face and make it possible to expand as public safety changes in the coming years. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN

Costs have risen sharply in recent years; Orland’s price tag almost doubled in 2021. Deer Isle’s similar design is now projected to cost $6.9 million, though it includes some features the Orland station didn’t include but left the door open to add.

That was one of the challenges in designing the station, according to Conary: meeting today’s needs while anticipating what might be required in 20 years.

Since his days as a junior firefighter, when the former station opened in 1974, one big change is knowledge of how many carcinogens firefighters are exposed to from their protective gear and on fire scenes. Firefighters have been shown to have higher rates of cancer diagnoses and deaths than the general population.

The “substantially healthier” new building has a decontamination room, showers and a dedicated washer and dryer for firefighting gear so members can change at the station instead of bringing those carcinogens home, Assistant Chief Julia Gray said.

Truck exhaust is now routed outside instead of accumulating in the station. The higher doors mean standard trucks can fit easily inside and be worked on from the top. The old station has a low ceiling that led the department to order modified, more expensive trucks and remove attachments before coming inside. Better drainage means the trucks can now be washed in the winter, lengthening their usable lifespans.

The new station has more space for the department’s trucks, wildland fire response vehicle and rescue boat, which will make it easier for firefighters to access them during calls. That’ll also help them respond to calls more quickly, which is especially critical because response time for volunteers can be increased by how long it takes them to get to the station from home or their jobs.

“It’s really nice to have a space that is designed for the way we work,” Gray said.

Trucks fit easily in the new Orland Fire Station. Fire Chief Robert Conary described shuffling sideways between the trucks at the old station, where they could barely fit under the doors and drainage made maintenance a challenge. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN

Looking ahead, the building could be expanded to host other emergency services or house firefighters if the town eventually needed to compensate its members — a possibility given the recruiting challenge departments around the country have been facing.

For now, Orland is doing well, with 25 total members, 12 of whom are able to go into structure fires.

Conary and Gray said part of their recruitment success comes from making a point to be welcoming, including to women, and inviting new members at any level of participation. They also try to create a family atmosphere and are flexible with scheduling for members with children.

Expensive municipal projects can be a hard sell in some communities, but Gray and Conary said that most in Orland could see the fire station project was needed. The town already owned the land, reducing costs, and a committee had determined that upgrading the old station or relying on neighboring fire departments for additional coverage wasn’t feasible.

Several years ago, the department also started posting on social media after each call to educate the public about their work, according to Gray, which helped build support.

“There are people who don’t like that we built this … but I think after a bit, people will drive by and say, ‘That’s our fire station,’” Conary said, describing a sense of community pride in the new building.