SOUTH RIVER–The Borough Council approved a resolution authorizing CME Associates to provide engineering services for the George Street Firehouse site environmental investigation.
Borough Administrator Art Londensky said the borough will pay CME Associates $22,300 to perform site investigation environmental services for the George Firehouse.
The council approved the resolution on Sept. 9. The services will include geophysical investigation, soil sampling, floor and trench drain investigation, and a written report, according to Londensky.
“The plans are to demolish it because part of the building was unsafe, that is why we needed the new firehouse. The floor was structurally unsafe and it didn’t meet any of the criteria for a safe and efficient firehouse. It didn’t have adequate sanitary facilities, it didn’t have any showers, it only had two towels. It didn’t have sleeping areas [but] everything was incorporated into the new building,” he said.
Londensky said the firehouse has been in the borough for approximately 100 years and is located at the corner of George and Thomas streets.
At one time, the George Street Firehouse was the only firehouse for the borough’s fire department. Then, in the 1960s, the borough built a second station for one of the fire companies on the other side of the borough, according to Londensky.
The new firehouse, Station One, opened in July 2017 and is located at 88 Jackson St.