‘Horribly Run Down’ Waterbury, CT, Fire Station to Undergo $5.7 Million Renovation

Waterbury's mayor said the city's fire stations are "old and horribly run down and in need of upgrades," as the city begins renovating Station 1.

By Mary Ellen Godin

Source Journal Inquirer, Manchester, CT (TNS)

Sept. 17, 2025

3 min read

With the $5.7 million renovation to Fire Station 1 in Waterbury, CT, firefighters are being deployed to different stations throughout the city.

Firefighters at Fire Station 1 have been deployed to stations throughout the city while the firehouse undergoes a $5.7 million renovation.

The firehouse at 1979 North Main St. closed two weeks ago as part of the department's ongoing plan to renovate its eight firehouses to bolster operations and service capabilities while ensuring long-term readiness, fire officials said.

As the city renovates one station, it will move on to the next. Each project is expected to cost several million dollars.

Mayor Paul Pernerewski described the firehouse conditions across the city as appalling. "They all need renovation," he said. "They're old and horribly run down and in need of upgrades."

Personnel, apparatus, and resources from Fire Station 1 will be "strategically redeployed" to other stations throughout the city to maintain full emergency response coverage for all residents and businesses during the closure, fire officials said in a news release.

"The department has worked closely with city officials to ensure that public safety remains unaffected during this transition," officials said in the release.

Fire Chief Javier Lopez said all available manpower will be assigned to the closest stations on Walnut Avenue and Willow Street. Also, instead of dispatching by geography, responding crews will be dispatched by GPS. If a crew is returning from a call or a training and are near a reported fire, they will be dispatched first.

Fire Station 1 is expected to reopen in June 2026 following upgrades that will modernize the station, upgrade sleeping and cooking quarters and provide a safer, more efficient working environment for city firefighters, officials said.

The city has completed work on Fire Station 6 on Willow Street, which needed significant upgrades to its rickety wooden stairs and failing railings. Asbestos inside the walls needed to be removed and the floor, built in 1907, was replaced with a much stronger structure, officials said.

"The floor that held the truck was not made for a 38,000-pound fire engine," said fire department spokesman Capt. Edward Partridge. "When you can't hold the fire truck from falling into the basement, that's a problem."

Fire Station 7 on Walnut Street was in the most need of work and had not had significant upgrades since construction. Asbestos was found in all the walls, plumbing and electrical also had to be brought to code, Partridge said. The cost to complete the work was $2.7 million, Partridge said.

After completion of Station 1, the city is expected to begin small renovations at the kitchens in Station 4 and 6, he said.

Not all the stations will be improved but "most of them need some work," Partridge said.

The renovation is a top priority for new chief Lopez who took over the helm of the department in June. The city has 230 firefighters, and responds to about 22,000 calls annually.

The city is also searching for space in the East End to build a new station for coverage in that area, but officials had no further details. A previous plan to expand Fire Station 5 on East Main Street fell through, the mayor said.

Pernerewski said the firehouse improvement project sends a message to firefighting staff that the city values them.

"If you're putting people in second-rate or third-rate or fourth-rate living quarters, I think there is a subtle message there that says you're not a priority for us, and I don't think that's true," Pernerewski said.