Withholding money is standard procedure when a contractor is making repairs.

STV Inc. of Stratford is directing heating and air-conditioning work, according to Town Engineer John Casey.

Company representatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Officials have had problems balancing the heating system since they began using it fully in November. The 27,000-square-foot fire headquarters building opened last September.

"The contractor is still working on tweaking all systems in the building," Casey said.

Balancing is the process of distributing hot and cool air so each room gets the appropriate amount, Casey said.

The bunk room where firefighters sleep is directly over the furnaces. The room gets very warm when it's cold outside and the building needs a lot of heat, said Fire Chief Ron Natress.

Firefighters often open windows in order to balance out the air temperature, Natress said.

"Some days it's worse than others," the chief said.

The $6 million facility houses a shift of 11 firefighters who run two engine trucks, a ladder truck and a command vehicle. It's also home to the fire marshal's office and administrative offices.

"It's not optimal, but it's certainly not the end of the world here, either," Natress said. "It needs to be corrected, but it has not hurt our operation."

Officials hope to fix the airflow problem soon.

"Nobody gets all their money until everybody is happy with the job," Casey said.

Daniel Drew, who covers Stratford, can be reached at 330-6470.