The Onset Fire Department is hoping to expand, with a new $13.9 million fire station proposed on Sand Pond Road.

Onset residents will weigh in on the request at the annual Onset Fire District meeting, set for May 15 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Dudley L. Brown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2846, located at 4 Gibbs Ball Park Road. All Onset Fire District registered voters may participate.

Over the past few years, Onset Fire Chief Ray Goodwin has made a case for a new building through a series of open houses, designed to show the public the need for an expanded station.

Built 72 years ago, the current station’s size is woefully inadequate for a modern fire service, Goodwin said. One glaring example, he noted, is the fact that the department’s ladder truck is too large for the bay and must be parked off site.

The department’s mission and call volume have expanded dramatically over the past 70 years, according to Todd Costa, an architect with Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. The firm was tasked with designing the new station. In 1950, the department averaged 285 calls per year. In 2015, that number climbed to 1,989.

Costa noted that in 1950, the department was solely focused on fire suppression. Now its duties include not only fire suppression, but hazardous material response, search and rescue operations, fire prevention education and much more.

The new station’s design, which was unveiled at a Onset Fire Department open house on Saturday, reflects that, Costa said.

Plans call for a two-story building with space to house the department’s nine vehicles under one roof. New bunks, space for training exercises, a fitness area, space for equipment storage and a community room able to fit 100 people are included, too. Costa said there are plans to use the community room for Onset Fire District meetings, instead of renting space from the Veterans of Foreign Wars each year.

Costa said two other potential sites were examined in addition to the Sand Pond Road site, which is located across the street from Onset Water Department headquarters. Officials considered rebuilding at the current site and building new on a lot adjacent to the nearby Hammond School.

Rebuilding at the current spot would have required a three-story building and an exorbitant price tag, said Costa. The Hammond School site was also unfeasible due to a deed restriction requiring the space be used for educational purposes.

Goodwin said the station’s downtown location is ideal for community engagement – his door is always open, he says – but the department has outgrown the 2 and a half acre lot.

“We have a lot of equipment, but nowhere to store it properly,” said Goodwin.

While planning for the new station has been ongoing, Goodwin said he pushed for its inclusion on this year’s Fire District agenda in order to lock in current low interest loan rates. Waiting longer might drive up the cost, he said.

If approved, the station would cost residents an additional $1.44 per $1,000 of assessed home value for a 20-year loan or $1.19 per $1,000 assessed home value for a 30-year loan. For a home valued at $250,000, those would be $360 and $297 annual increases, respectively.

Marcine Fernandes, a member of the district’s Prudential Committee, argued that now was the time for a new station and to make sure it’s done correctly.

“If we’re going to rebuild let’s do this the right way,” said Fernandes. “We need a station that’s going to last for 50 to 75 years. We need to build for the future and that’s what these plans will do.”