NORWALK -- The Norwalk Fire Commission has approved the hiring of a management and consulting services firm to analyze the needs of the Norwalk Fire Department and the feasibility of meeting those needs.

Mayor Alex Knopp released the proposal for a comprehensive capital needs and operations study Tuesday afternoon. "To keep the Norwalk Fire Department at its high level of excellence, we need to have a comprehensive review of major capital and operating issues," Knopp said. "We need a clear plan for tackling the many problems which have accumulated over the years and the city cannot afford to resolve all of them immediately, but an overall plan will enable us to better target the limited financial resources currently available to the fire department to maximize their impact on firefighter health and safety and the effectiveness of the NFD," the mayor said.

The study will be carried out using $25,000 from last year's capital budget and $25,000 from the new operating budget. The study will be supervised by the Gilbane Construction firm, which is Norwalk's construction project manager.

The study will address the condition of the various fire stations including Charles A. Volk Station on Connecticut Avenue; equipment to update the emergency communications system and the creation of a sixth station to better serve the needs of residents in the Cranbury and Silvermine neighborhoods.

Charles A. Volk Station, which serves as the central station, has been used by the department since 1963. Assistant Chief Sanford Anderson, who will become the fire chief next month, described the station as in being in a state of disrepair.

"Central Station was built on a swamp, and it is beginning to sink," Anderson said. "We've replaced the floors three times, the walls are cracking and the pipes are bursting." If the study reveals that it would be more costly to renovate the building than the relocate it, the city will consider moving the station to the former Transit District headquarters on Fairfield Avenue.

Central Station is not the only one that is beginning to show its age. The Meadow Street and Westport Avenue stations both have leaking roofs, and the Broad River station needed its ventilation system replaced because of a poor air quality.

These work conditions are inadequate for Norwalk's firefighters, Knopp said.

"Norwalk's firefighters deserve better," Knopp said. "They deserve a long-range capital improvement plan." The firefighters' equipment is also inadequate. "Many aspects of NFD's infrastructure are in need of serious repair," Knopp said, noting the telephone system is antiquated and its emergency radio system is inadequate to communicate with other emergency services within Norwalk and throughout the region.

"The most important lesson of the 9/11 terrorist attack for municipal emergency services is that communication technology must be modernized and upgraded so uniformed forces can communicate with each other in times of crisis," Knopp said. The improvement of the delivery of fire department services doesn't just hinge on communications alone. In 1992, a study was done by the firm TriData and showed that a sixth station north of the Merritt Parkway would improve emergency response times to those areas, reducing the average response time from six minutes to three minutes.

"In an emergency situation, the first four to six minutes are critical," Anderson said.

Firefighter response could also be improved by the addition of new equipment such as an ambulance or "fly-car," a Chevy Suburban which can be dispatched to the scene of an emergency. The assessment study will research the benefits of all these vehicles.

"With these vehicles we would be able to transport injured persons to the hospital," Anderson said. "It would also decrease the maintenance to our larger vehicles, which has increased since we took on EMS calls a year ago." Overall, Knopp is hopeful that the study will provide a plan that the city will be able to implement over the next 10 to 15 years to improve the fire department.

"Due to the city's investments in school facilities, the city will need to significantly limit its non-education capital budget in the coming years," Knopp said.

Therefore, we need to invest our resources wisely on the basis of a comprehensive plan to protect the residents of Norwalk, to enhance the safety and welfare of our firefighters, and to make sure the NFD is well-prepared for the challenges of the 21st century," the mayor said.

The evaluation, interview and hiring process should take 60 to 90 days to complete. The study should take six to nine months once a firm is hired.

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