Before 1946, Putnam Valley, N.Y., had no organized fire-protection services. The first mention of the Putnam Valley Fire District appeared in the spring of 1946 when the town board passed a resolution to form a fire district for the whole town of Putnam Valley. By October 1946, the first regular meeting was held with 40 charter members of the department made up of returning World War II veterans, auxiliary police and volunteers with a neighboring fire department.

The Putnam Valley Fire Department has come a long way in the past 60 years with 150 volunteers and recent construction of a 28,876-square-foot station located at the rural fringe north of New York City. The 2-story station is tucked into a hillside with pedestrian access to both floors, an accessible meeting/training room for 200 and a members’ room for 80.

According to Robert Mitchell of Mitchell Associates Architects, Putnam Valley made a commitment to have a green fire station.

“Energy conservation measures include insulation levels that are 50% better than the current codes,” he said. “Mechanical systems improvements that include heat recovery ventilation, ventilation rates determined by carbon dioxide sensors, vacancy sensors to control lighting and thermostats, variable speed fan and pump motors, and high efficiency boilers and air conditioning units. Alternative energy measures include photovoltaic and domestic hot water collectors.”

Other conservation measures include water-saving fixtures and rainwater collection for landscape irrigation and truck washing.

Mitchell said the most challenging part of the new Putnam Valley Fire Department facility was opposition from opponents who didn’t want a fire station in their backyard. The project was delayed for more than a year due to the obstruction created by a very small group of neighbors.

“The result of their complaints has been the requirement to perform a complete environmental impact statement at great expense to the department and the taxpayers,” Mitchell said. “We neglected to build a base of community support early enough in the project cycle."

Mitchell believes that future fire stations should consider creating a citizens advisory committee on day one. “The committee members should be highly respected community leaders capable of declaring that they have been involved with the design process from the beginning and that the fire department’s plans are sensible and the best solution for the taxpayers,” he said.