Lucky discovery saves firehall project

by John M. Curtin

Lewiston Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1 has been busy at work the past month, as its renovations have begun. The $1.5 million project, which includes everything from a new parking lot to a larger truck bay, could have been impaired if it wasn't for a wet discovery.

"What happened was that standing water appeared when they removed the old pavement of the parking lot. So they used a digital camera to take pictures during a period of time, and found that it was seeping through the ground," says Bryan Meigs, superintendent of the village's Public Works Department.

According to fire company President Les Myers, research had shown that an old pool belonging to a house that once sat at the firehall's location was buried. When the house burned down, the remains were pushed into the pool, still with water in it, and buried - later to be built upon by the fire department. Although the amount of water wasn't much, if not discovered, the old pool would have turned the renovation project into a renovation disaster.

"The weight of the new truck bay, and trucks themselves, would have cracked the floor and eventually water would've leaked into the new hall," says Meigs.

For the past several weeks, construction crews have worked on the demolition of the interior's old walls and such. Myers says now that the old pool has been filled in, outside site work for the new edition is set to begin next week. Pictures of the hall's renovations can be seen on the fire company's online home page athttp://www.lfd1.com.