After months of preparations, the Onset Fire Department has officially moved into its new fire station, located at 8 Sand Pond Rd. behind the old Salvation Army. 

The department put out a statement on Sept. 29, saying it had moved operations to the new station, finally leaving behind the department’s old Onset Village headquarters at 5 East Central Ave.

“The fire station at East Central Ave. has been home to many current and former members since the early 1960s,” the department said in the statement, which was shared on Facebook. “The station has been more than just a firehouse to the citizens of Onset, but a focal point of the community.”

Over time, the department outgrew the old station, the statement explained.

“As the department has become busier and the design of apparatus has changed, the need for a new healthy station became evident,” it said. 

In April, now-Onset Fire Chief Jeffrey Osswald said the new station has a few key safety features.

There are scrubbers to clean the air in the apparatus bay where the emergency response vehicles are housed. In addition, the new station has a designated storage area for protective firefighting gear, which he said can off-gas, or release, contaminants that get picked up during the firefighting process.

Osswald emphasized the significance of having a space totally separate from the apparatus bay and firefighting gear for firefighters to use during their downtime. 

“We have a separated living environment that’s clean,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, you know, with cancer being very prevalent now in the fire service.”

When asked what he had been most looking forward to about moving to the new station, Osswald said he would appreciate having “a safer building.” He also noted that the new headquarters — which is all primarily on one level — would be more accessible. 

Although the department has officially moved out of the center of Onset Village, the statement reiterated Onset Fire’s commitment to serving the community. 

“We want to assure you we will provide the best quality of care, while operating from our new home,” the statement said. “The members are excited for the new memories to be made and are thankful to the citizens of Onset for providing the most state of the art building.”

An open house will be scheduled in the future for those who wish to visit the Onset Fire Department’s new station.