Together this station and the main fire station on East Street, serve almost 1,100 calls a year (source MassLive.com). The $3.5 Million-dollar, 5,000 SF state of the art facility was built recently to replace a former station built in the 1950s. It expands the reach of the fire department and will allow better collaboration between the town of Sunderland and Hadley Fire Departments. Berkshire Design Group with Caolo & Bienek architects worked on the projects from its inception including site selection all the way through Construction Administration. It is a single-story, energy-efficient building, including meeting rooms, kitchen/break room, dispatch, and two bunk rooms.

The new station is on two acres of a ten-acre property at 304 River Drive. The site design took into consideration future Town development of a possible Animal Control facility and recreational fields for community activities. The site design was rooted in stormwater sustainable practices, allowing for the whole project site to be sheet flowed using vegetated swales towards a shallow infiltration basin. The site did not require any additional infrastructure like catch basins or pipes. Careful attention was placed to minimize the amount of PVC and Concrete that would have been utilized in traditional stormwater piping. The elimination of these items lowered the carbon footprint of the project and makes stormwater more visible. 

ARCHITECT: Caolo & Bieniek Architects

PHOTOGRAPHY: Mark Lindhult