Fall River’s Central Fire Station is finally set for visible exterior work, with the city issuing an invitation for contractors to address long-delayed facade deterioration at the 165 Bedford St. building.
The scope centers on cleaning, repointing, and consolidating the station’s aging masonry under historic preservation standards. For restoration crews, that keeps the spotlight on mortar joints, long-term moisture exposure, and the kind of careful surface work that protects existing brick and stone while restoring the building’s street-facing appearance.
Along with the masonry repairs, the bid package calls for replacing and rewiring missing or damaged exterior light fixtures across the facade. Plans also include repair and repainting of four metal medallions mounted above the apparatus bays. The ornate firefighting symbols have visibly deteriorated in recent years, mirroring the broader wear on the building’s exterior.
City documents set a mid-July deadline for proposals, with bids opened in a public session. The schedule targets construction activity later in the season after the city awards a contract.
The exterior project arrives amid wider debate about the condition and future of Fall River’s firehouses. Prior coverage cited union concerns about interior flooding, water damage, and conditions described as unhealthy for crews. Those interior issues sit outside the current bid, which stays focused on the building’s exterior shell.
Environmental testing included in the bid materials also reports asbestos in specific interior locations, including chrysotile asbestos in pipe insulation in a second-floor supply room and locker room. The project manual outlines protocols for handling asbestos if encountered during the facade work, while removal of known asbestos-containing materials remains outside the immediate scope.
Officials have also discussed a new firehouse along Davol Street as part of a broader redevelopment corridor near transportation and waterfront projects. That long-term conversation leaves the Bedford Street station’s future unresolved, even as the city moves ahead with masonry stabilization work on a prominent civic building.
Read the full, original article from thetraveler.org here.