Lawrence Engine 9 Reopens in Lawrence

 
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Lawrence City Councilor Marc LaPlante, State Rep. Marcos Devers, Mayor Rivera, Firefighter Zahn, and Chief Moriarity at the newly reopened Fire Station in South Lawrence. PHOTO: Jessica Valentin
 
More than five years after being closed because of budget cuts, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera has reopened the Engine 9 Fire Station on Bailey St., saying the station “will be operated by a minimum of three firefighters, one apparatus and one rescue boat twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.” 

“This is the best case scenario of doing more with less. Since day one, Chief Moriarty has been tasked with evaluating our fire department. With his leadership and the help of the union, we were able to re-open this asset in one of our more dense neighborhoods. We thank the union and the firefighters for their patience and cooperation through this process.

 
They mayor says that the opening of Engine 9 is a budget neutral move. “It is a re-deployment of staffing using resources we currently have. With the help of the DPW and the leadership of DPW Director John Isensee, Engine 9 underwent $50,000 worth of improvements in two months.
 
“This increases the safety and response times throughout the city,” said Fire Chief Brian Moriarty. “I was thrilled to find a way to get it opened.”
 
Lawrence City Councilor Marc LaPlante, whose district the fire station is located, has been pushing for the station reopening since the day it closed. 
 
Firefighters tell me that a critical facet to successful fighting is rapid response time. Reopening Bailey Street station is important and as a district councilor, this is something that I have been advocating for a long time,”  Laplante said. 
“I am glad that the Rivera administrations, working with the new chief, were able to get this done.”
 
“This fire station reopening occurred after of the City invested $850,000 to fix roofs, floors, heating systems and otherwise make the fire houses across the city more livable for our firefighters,” Mayor Rivera Concluded.