37° and Patchy rain nearby
Image
Photo by Parker Harrington. On Friday, April 3, 2026, the frame of a sprung structure has been erected in front of Westwood's Fire Station 1 on High Street.
As captured by photos taken by Parker Harrington on the afternoon of Friday, April 3, progress is being made in erecting a temporary structure at Westwood's Fire Station 1 on High Street, which once completed, is expected to restore a normal response time of the fire department to the area of town served by FS1.
At Westwood Select Board's hybrid meeting held on March 30, Deputy Town Administrator Molly Fitzpatrick noted that after the structure's delivery on Wednesday, April 1, work could be completed in seven to ten days, dependent on the weather.
Photo by Parker Harrington. The sprung structure being erected at Westwood's Fire Station 1 hugs the front of the existing brick building and extends to within a few feet of the High Street sidewalk.The sprung structure is intended to temporarily house Westwood Fire Department apparatus and enable FS1 operations that have been displaced since Thursday, February 26. On that date, fire department personnel noticed the growth of a hole in the apparatus floor, leading to an immediate structural evaluation of the premises and subsequent overnight relocation of all FS1 equipment. The apparatus normally housed at FS1 have since been housed at Fire Station 2 on Washington Street in Islington.
Since the emergency relocation, Fire Chief Steven Lund has noted that the fire department's response time to Highland Glen apartments on High Street had doubled from three or four minutes to eight or nine minutes. Similar increases in response time to other areas normally served by FS1 could also be expected. The Town of Westwood has sought to temporarily address the issue by parking apparatus outside the apparatus bays onsite at FS1, whenever weather has allowed.
The FS1 Steering Committee, which has been formed by Select Board to recommend the most feasible locations for a new FS1, is holding a number of community conversations for information sharing. The community is invited to attend the next such event on Tuesday, April 7, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Pine Hill School cafeteria.
Photo by Parker Harrington. A sprung structure at Westwood's Fire Station 1 will enable apparatus to be stored on site once more, and will normalize fire response times to the High Street area of town.
