The Roslyn Highlands Fire Department will formally unveil its new Station 2 building in East Hills on Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony slated for a 1 p.m. start.
The volunteer department’s new station, located at 111 Harbor Hill Road, replaces a much smaller building that had been built in 1964 on the former Harbor Hill estate of wealthy financier Clarence Mackay.
Officials said the station was needed to accommodate the modernization of trucks and other fire-fighting equipment.
Michael Murtagh, corresponding secretary for Roslyn Highlands, said in an e-mail that fire trucks in the 1960s were “about the size of a modern ambulance,” and the original 2,700 square-foot station could house one truck and gear for 10 men.
Roslyn Highlands attempted to expand the building several times over the years, Murtagh said, most recently in the 1990s when the truck bay was lengthened and the ceilings were raised to accommodate a larger, modern fire truck.
During this time, Murtagh said, the fire department became more involved in providing emergency medical services, and room had to be made to include an ambulance and a first-responder vehicle.
By 2012, nearly 40 firefighters had been assigned to Station 2 and officials had to make room to store their gear.
“In order to fit these things into the station, we had less than one foot of clearance between vehicles and virtually no room in which to don gear,” Murtagh said. “The situation was both dangerous for members and substantially delayed the deployment of any vehicles.”
The new station building can easily accommodate the department’s needs, Murtagh said. This includes the storage of a fire truck, ambulance and first responder vehicle in addition to a conference room, restrooms and kitchenette.
