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The PRFD Building Project:
Frequently Asked and/or Pertinent Questions and Answers.
Updated February 2025
Who and what is the Pound Ridge Fire Department?
The active (responding) membership of the Department consists of 59 men and 3 women, all of whom live, work, go to school, shop, dine, etc. here in Pound Ridge. The Department is 100% volunteer: there are no paid firefighters in Pound Ridge. We are always looking for new recruits! Go to www.poundridgefire.com to join.
Who and what is the Pound Ridge Fire District?
A board of 5 elected residents serve staggered 5-year terms as Fire Commissioners. The FireDistrict's mission is to provide fire protection and emergency rescue services within the boundaries of Pound Ridge. Residents pay a "fire tax" as a small portion of their property taxes to fund the equipment necessary: the firehouse, the fire trucks, firefighting and rescue equipment, safety and medical supplies, and training and insurance for our volunteers. The operating budget for 2022 is $835,287
The Pound Ridge Fire District owns 2 adjacent lots in Scott’s corners, which includes the fire station at 80 Westchester Avenue, some parking across the street from North Star, and all the parking behind the firehouse and the rest of the businesses on the firehouse side of Westchester Avenue. The Fire District allows the Town to use that area for parking free of charge. You can see the property map on www.poundridgefiredistrict.com under the “District Assets” tab.
If you are interested in running for a seat on the Board of Fire Commissioners, please see “District Elections" under the “About Us" drop-down menu for instructions on how to get on the ballot.
What does the Fire District encompass?
If you pay property taxes to the Town of Pound Ridge, you live in the Pound Ridge Fire District. The Fire District encompasses 23.2 square miles (14,848 acres) of land, 84 miles of roads, and 2,485 individual properties representing property value in excess of $2B. We protect 240 schoolchildren every weekday at PRES and the Montessori School. We respond to homes, businesses, farms, hiking trails, and the 4,300-acre County land preserve. Our District's map can be viewed in the drop-down menu under "About Us.”
TOPIC: SCOPE OF PROPOSED UPDATE
Please note that all aspects of the proposed project lie within property already owned by the PRFD.
- 2-bay addition to the front (Westchester Avenue) side of the building
- The 2-bay addition includes additional storage underneath for our Polaris and large equipment, and would be accessed from the rear of the building
- A major overhaul of the existing building to upgrade infrastructure that is end of life and to meet current safety standards
- Relocation of the driveway to parking in the rear to accommodate the new addition
Why do you need to update and expand the building?
Standards have changed since the current firehouse was built in 1952 and renovated in 1991. Fire stations are now designed to separate "red zones” (contaminated areas of the firehouse) from "green zones.” This is necessary to keep carcinogenic toxins and diesel fumes away from the administrative and public areas of the building. An extensive inventory review was done to eliminate all obsolete and broken equipment, and the Fire station is operating at over 200% capacity for storage of large equipment, creating safety issues in all operational areas.
Why do you need so many types of apparatus (vehicles)?
Our volunteer fire department provides fire and rescue services. These 911 calls could be structure fires (house, barn, building), outdoor fires (brush, forest, trash, grills, motor vehicles), any type of motor vehicle accident, hiking or equestrian accidents, chemical spills, or rescue from anywhere: tight spaces, up three flights of pre-1800 stairs, underground, in water, or down a cliff. No one piece of apparatus can carry the tools necessary to provide service for all these tasks. We have 3 pumpers for our main fire operations; two are needed for any structure fire, or multiple fire calls in Town. Rescue 22 is the main piece of apparatus for motor vehicle accidents carrying the "Jaws of Life,” stabilization tools, generators, chainsaws, searchlights, an inflatable motorboat, ropes, winches, a caged stretcher for hoisting victims from the bottom of a cliff or ravine, and basic medical supplies. We also have a Mini Attack for brush fires and a utility to address wires down and traffic needs.
Many residents may not realize that the rural character of Pound Ridge means that we do not have pressurized fire hydrants. The PRFD pre-plans how to source water from ponds or rivers for any given property. For this reason, we maintain a "source pumper,” which carries almost a mile of 5-inch hose to help us get water to properties that lack their own water sources. Most of our apparatuses also contain water tanks that allow us an initial attack capacity while the source pumper is set up and mutual aid companies rush to back us up if needed.
Engine 111 (pumper): 1000 gallons
Engine 112 (pumper): 250 gallons, plus nearly a mile of hose for sourcing
Engine 113 (pumper): 1000 gallons
Tanker 3: 3200 gallons, plus 2 portable ponds
Mini Attack 21 (Brush Fire Vehicle): 250 gallons
Rescue 22: 250 gallons
Other Apparatus: Chiefs’ SUVs, Utility Truck, Polaris off-road rescue vehicle
TOPIC: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The Pound Ridge Fire Department and its members are committed to building an environmentally sensitive building. We live here too! The Town of Pound Ridge has strict construction requirements for good reason. Our project will meet all regulations and we will rely on professionals for guidance throughout the process. A thorough environmental review is underway in accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
TOPIC: MONEY
How much will the project cost?
Under 2022 estimates, we asked the community to approve a Municipal Bond in the amount of $6.5M to fund the project, and are grateful for the support given us in that referendum. Please be assured that we have and are vigorously pursuing the highest value of design that serves the needs of our community. Most of our members are taxpayers here, just like you. We do not take the community's investment in our fire department lightly, and we recognize our responsibility. The Pound Ridge Fire District can say with pride that we have been careful with your (our) tax dollars. We had been operating with a less than 7% increase over the 6 years leading to the 2022 vote, while the cumulative price increase for the dollar/other general living expenses has increased almost 21% over that same period.
We are currently coming back to the community to ask for $3.5 million in additional funding, which brings the project bond total to $10 million. Inflation in the construction industry has been much higher than reflected by the Consumer Price Index since 2022: for example, the price of fabricated steel has risen by 66%. Articles for reference can be accessed here: The CPI Index is not related at all to construction and should not be used to adjust construction pricing, here: Inflation's Impact on Construction, and here: Rising Aggregate and Construction Costs in NY.
How much will a new firehouse raise my taxes? What is the average fire tax in the district?
The Pound Ridge Fire District tax is a small component (currently 1.8%) of our property taxes. A spreadsheet with the estimated tax implication for every property in Pound Ridge can be viewed here on our website. Look under the "Firehouse Expansion menu > Tax Implications," or click here: Tax Implications / Firehouse Expansion. The PRFD can say with pride that we have been careful with your tax dollars. Leading up to the December 2022 bond vote, we had been operating with a less than 7% increase in 6 years, while the cumulative price increase for the dollar/other general living expenses increased almost 21% over that same period.
A note about taxes: if we do not support our volunteer force, a FASNY study estimates that a paid department would raise our overall property taxes 8% for salaries and benefits alone, and still require updates to the firehouse to accommodate union agreements for professional firefighters. The study can be seen online: https://fasny.com/news/economic-study-volunteer-firefighters-save-ny-taxpayers-more-than-3-billion-each-year/
What measures are being taken to manage additional economic risk for this project?
The new budget for the project includes a 20% contingency in addition to the usual buffer included for normal construction escalation in budgets for projects of this size. We feel confident that this provides a reasonable buffer for unexpected expenses.
How do we know there won’t be yet another request for more funding?
Based on the experience we have gained in planning this project, and a very careful analysis of current market factors, we feel confident that the supplemental bond and a 20% contingency will be sufficient to meet the needs of the project.
What is the percentage breakdown of funds provided to the PRFD, including town, county, and private donations?
The 2025 operating budget for the Pound Ridge Fire District is $905,057. This amount comes directly from the fire tax portion of our property taxes. Operating expenses are for things having to do with providing fire and rescue protection: the fire station, all the vehicles, the equipment, the technology, tools, medical supplies, helmets, and protective gear, insurance on everything and everyone, training costs, the salary and benefits for our District Caretaker, stipends for the District's Treasure and Secretary.
Separately, The Fire Department receives Fund Drive donations from the community and these funds are used by the Department to invest in 2 homes near the firehouse to provide subsidized housing for our members so we can maintain coverage in overnight hours. The department also uses these funds to run the annual Halloween haunted house, buy food and beverages for training and calls, duty-wear for our volunteers, and recruit new volunteers. These donations make a huge difference to our volunteers, and we appreciate every dollar.
Are supporting funds for this proposed update available from County, State or Federal agencies?
The funding for the project must come from a bond approved by the voters in the fire district. It would be very difficult for the fire district to win a grant for our project due to the relative affluence of Pound Ridge compared to, say rural Missouri or western upstate New York.
Would Pound Ridge residents receive lowered fire insurance premiums to offset higher taxes from a bond issue?
This is unlikely. There are many elements that are looked at by the Insurance Service Office (ISO), which is a non-profit organization that provides statistical information on risk that many insurance companies use for determining premiums. The ISO rating scale is 1-10 (1 being the best protected area). With no Town water infrastructure, and therefore no pressurized fire hydrants, we are unlikely to be considered for “highest protection" ratings.
TOPIC: TRAFFIC
This project will not change traffic patterns on Westchester Avenue. The new driveway location will still allow access to the parking in the rear and the plan is to net at least 1 more parking spot for public use. Did you know that all the parking spots behind the firehouse and all the way over to the hardware store are on property owned by the PRFD, which is eased for use to the Town of PR at no cost?
TOPIC: OPERATIONS
What is the PRFD’s total gallon capacity of water available for a fire?
In a district with no public water infrastructure, the PRFD must operate without pressurized fire hydrants. For initial attack, our apparatus provides the following capacity:
Engine 111 (pumper): 1000 gallons
Engine 112 (source): 250 gallons, plus nearly a mile of hose for sourcing
Engine 113 (pumper): 1000 gallons
Tanker 3: 3200 gallons, plus 2 portable ponds
Mini Attack 21 (brush fire vehicle): 250 gallons
Rescue 22: 250 gallons
This initial water supply may knock down the fire completely or it may control it enough to buy us time to set up a source and for mutual aid to arrive to back us up. For any active building fire, we bring in mutual aid from our neighboring departments to help supply additional water and manpower to the scene.
TOPIC: TIMELINE
What has the Fire District been doing since the first bond referendum passed?
All Fire District meetings are open to the public, and all meeting minutes are available for public view on this website. An update on the project progress is documented at every meeting. The link below will take you to the Meeting Minutes Archive.
Data Center: Fire District Meeting Minutes
We invite you to send any additional questions you have regarding the firehouse project to info@poundridgefire.com, or call the firehouse at (914) 764-5102.
Please email us at info@poundridgefire.com to be added to our email update list.
As always, our 100% volunteer Firefighters appreciate your support.
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