New Ambulance Building Information

Community benefits and key facts
Ambulance facilities throughout the years
The need for a new building
The new building proposal

Community Benefits and Key Facts

We feel that there are many benefits to  the town in moving ahead with this project and hope that you come out to vote yes at the referendum on Tuesday October 11th, 2011.  When making your final decision, please consider the following:

• The building removal and contamination cleanup cost is the responsibility of the current owner - NOT THE TOWN!

• The purchase and sale agreement protects the town from contamination associated with the gas station. The seller is committed to remediating the property, and the town is not legally obligated to take ownership until is certified as clean by a Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP).

• Since the town will not be operating a gas station on this property, future issues with MTBE contamination in neighboring properties remains the concern of the current owner.  Further protection to the town is provided by the innocent landowner statute.

• The property is zoned residential and the gas station, which is grandfathered as a non-conforming use, cannot be modified to make it profitable. The current owners have been trying to sell the property for several years and approached the town when they were unsuccessful.

• If this project did not go through and the owners decide to abandon the gas station due to profitability issues, we will be left with a derelict building in the center of our community with the contamination issue unresolved.

• The bulk of the site has already been cleaned with the only outstanding portion located under the current building. This represents a unique opportunity to clean this soil.

• This project is vitally important to the long term operability of a local, volunteer-based ambulance service

• Funding for the project is provided by the Harwinton Ambulance Association and by $970,000 in grants already secured by the town.  There are signed grant agreements in place between the Town and the State ensuring the availability of the funds. Click here to view those agreements.

• NONE of the funding comes from the town's budget and there will be NO increase in taxes to purchase the land and construct the building.

• Moving the ambulance out of the firehouse frees up space for the fire department in their building.

• As part of the project the town will receive a significant upgrade to its Emergency Operations Center capabilities.

Click here to access the legal agreements and addtional documentation on the project.

The existing space has not met the needs of the Harwinton Ambulance Association for many years.  In fact, finding a new location for the ambulance has been an ongoing project for the last 20 years or so.

The current headquarters consists of single vehicle bay and a 16' x 16' room in the firehouse on Burlington Road. It does not provide the necessary space and resources as it lacks:

Ambulance facilities throughout the years

Since its inception Harwinton Ambulance has operated out of several locations in town.  After forming on May 9, 1963 the ambulance was stationed out of a barn owned by Dr. Gerald Baker of Harmony Hill Road.  In November of that year they moved to the Town Garage on Locust Road.  In 1978 members began to search for a new location as the Town Garage no longer met the needs of the ambulance.  In 1981 a property on Davis Road was discovered which was suitable for a new facility.  It was estimated to cost $33,400 to construct the building at the time. 

At the same time another property became available though the donation of land by Henri David just west of the center firehouse for enough land to build onto the firehouse and add a space for the ambulance and a meeting room.  The ambulance moved into the new building at the end of 1982.


The need for a new building:

By the early 90’s it was evident that the ambulance was outgrowing the space that was provided for them by the addition.  With the addition of a second ambulance in 1994 and the lack of a bunk room, kitchen facilities, showers for decontamination, and a large enough meeting area, it was apparent that the Ambulance Association needed a larger space.  Over the last 20 years several potential sites have been investigated.  Several years ago the gas station next to the Center firehouse, an ideal location for the building, was placed on the market.  With the combination of the ideal location, and grant funding secured by the town, the Ambulance Association is finally in a position to construct a building that meets our needs.

The following pictures illustrate just a couple of the reasons why we are in need of a new location that is large enough to run the day-to-day operations of our ambulance service.

This 16’ x 16’ room is the only living/office/training space we currently have.

Space in the ambulance bay is very limited and access is often difficult.

All supplies used in the building and to restock the ambulance must be carried up and down these pull down stairs.

The New Building Proposal   

The proposed location is at the site of the gas station next to the Harwinton Center Firehouse on Route 4.  The benefits of this location are numerous including easy access to a main road, and its proximity to the firehouse.  The funding for the land purchase and construction of the building will be paid entirely through $970,000 of grants already secured by the Board of Selectmen, funds saved the Ambulance, and through donations.  NONE of the funding comes from the town’s budget and there will be NO increase in taxes to purchase the land and construct the building. 

In June of 2010 the Board of Selectmen appointed a Building Committee to work with the Ambulance Association to design a structure that fit well into our community and provides adequate space to meet the long-term needs of the organization.  Everything from the ambulance bays to the training room to living quarters was carefully reviewed and discussed.  For Building Committee minutes, please click here to visit the Town’s website.

The building committee consists of the following Harwinton Citizens:

The Building Committee presents the following draft design as being in the best interest of both the Town and the Ambulance Association.  It incorporates the features required to support Emergency Medical Operations for our community in a manner that suits both current and future needs.





During the design process there was also a strong focus on the energy efficiency of the structure.  This goal is to minimize the operating expense of the structure.