City officials say work on the stalled project may get under way soon if the job is awarded to the contractor now under consideration.

Once work begins, "they will be working through the winter," said Caryn Kaufman, mayoral spokeswoman.

But she declined to identify the company because city building officials have not formally hired it.

"The award is not granted. They are still reviewing the paperwork," Kaufman said.

The building was to have been completed last May, but work ground to a halt when the original contractor, White and Carr of New York City, abandoned the job.

The firm left behind structural mistakes and forfeited a $2 million bond on the stalled project, officials said. The firm is now defunct, and its principals have resigned.

But the city has been working with the surety company holding the bond to hire another contractor.

The forfeited bond should cover finishing the fire station, according to city officials. The surety company will have to cover extra expenses.

The half-built structure near Old Mill Green in the city's East Side also is drawing fire from neighborhood residents.

An East Side woman, Aidee Nieves, claimed the building would have been finished more quickly if it were in another section of Bridgeport.

The fire station is part of a $7.2 million project that also includes a community center, library, playground and ballfields.

The tract is called the Marin-Garfield redevelopment area.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.