Fall River preservation committee takes up emergency money for Central Fire Station on Nov. 16
The committee recommends Community Preservation Act spending to the City Council. Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon called the Bedford Street station the worst in the state in January, and some councilors have talked of replacing it, The Herald News reported.
FALL RIVER Updated 4:30 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
Fall River's Community Preservation Committee, led by Chair John Brandt, will take up emergency funding for the Central Fire Station when it meets Monday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m., and the item is the fifth of 12 on its agenda.
The station at Bedford and Troy streets was built in the 1920s and has served the Fall River Fire Department for about a century, The Herald News reported in January. Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon called it "the worst in the state" at a City Council Finance Committee meeting on Jan. 13, according to the paper.
South Coast 360 asked the committee's chair on Nov. 11 for the amount, the work and who brought the request.
How the money works
The committee recommends how the city spends its money under the state Community Preservation Act. Under that law, Chapter 44B of the General Laws, a community preservation committee makes recommendations to the city's legislative body for open space, for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic resources, for land for recreation and for community housing, and the money may not be used for maintenance. In Fall River the legislative body is the City Council, so any spending the committee recommends goes to the council.
How we got here
At the January meeting, Bacon told councilors that the updates the city had promised for the station over the last 25 years seemed more "myth" than reality, and that "there hasn't been any work done," The Herald News reported.
Restoring part of the building's facade, including repointing the brick and replacing windows, medallions and lighting, was estimated at about $644,000, and a $2.1 million interior project would bring the station up to code with renovated locker rooms, gyms and three bunkrooms and new lighting, electrical and fire systems, ceilings and Wi-Fi, the paper reported. Together the facade work and the interior came to roughly $3 million, and repointing the Bedford Street side and other needed updates would cost about $2 million more, according to the report.
Al Oliveira, the city's director of community maintenance, told the council he expected architectural designs in February and a plan by April, when the $2.1 million interior project would be ready to go out to bid, The Herald News reported.
Michael O'Reagan, president of the firefighters union, Local 1314, told councilors the basement is "loaded with asbestos," and Councilor Joseph Camara said of the building, "It should be condemned," the paper reported. Councilor Christopher Peckham explained a resolution he submitted to "see if there's an appetite" for a new station nearby, and the matter was to go to the full council and its Real Estate Committee, according to the paper.
Councilor Shawn Cadime backed delaying the work "to do it the right way," while Chief Financial Officer Emily Arpke said, "The goal is to have it done all at once, as much as it can be," The Herald News reported.
Also on the agenda
The committee will also discuss deed restrictions, fiscal 2028 projects and funding, and the dates for its fiscal 2028 funding round, and it is set to approve the minutes of its Oct. 19 meeting and hear project and website updates.
How to watch and weigh in
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the City Council Hearing Room at One Government Center, and citizen input is the third item of business. It will be shown on Comcast Channel 18 in Fall River and online on Fall River Government Television at frgtv.fredtv.us/live and on its Facebook page, with Channel 9 carrying it if meetings overlap, and the committee takes email at cpc@fallriverma.org.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Facts come from the City of Fall River's agenda for the Nov. 16 Community Preservation Committee meeting, the state Community Preservation Act (Chapter 44B, Section 5) and The Herald News report of Jan. 19, 2026, which is credited for everything said at the Jan. 13 council Finance Committee meeting and for the cost estimates. We read them on Nov. 11 and checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (3)
- City of Fall River, Community Preservation Committee meeting agenda, Nov. 16, 2026, 6 p.m.One page, by Chair John Brandt, dated Nov. 10, 2026; city clerk stamp Nov. 9, 2026, 8:46 a.m. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- The Herald News (Emily Scherny), "Fall River's dilapidated Central Fire Station could cost $3M in repairs," as carried by Yahoo NewsPublished Jan. 19, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 44B, Section 5 (community preservation committee)Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Section 5(b)(2): the committee makes recommendations to the legislative body for open space, historic resources, land for recreational use and community housing; the money may not be used for maintenance. Read Nov. 11, 2026.