The sirens are silent. The flashing lights still. Yet Minquas Fire Company of Newport is responding to a pressing emergency - the need for more room to put its stuff.
Evolving technology has crowded the old fire station engine bays with larger trucks, special equipment and more of what it takes to save lives and put out fires fast.
It is an issue facing many fire departments, and the answer for some has been to build new stations or renovate older ones.
More than a dozen of the state's 60 volunteer fire departments have built new stations or renovated existing ones since the early 1990s. New construction usually runs in cycles, said Jim Cubbage, executive secretary of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association.
"I think the service they're providing changes," he said. "I think they're looking to better service their communities."
Other communities that have either built new fire stations or renovated existing ones include Delaware City, Middletown and Townsend.
Some fire departments have built substations to cope with population growth and shifts. Others make a move because their stations are old and crumbling. Minquas, whose station was built in 1907, cites that as a reason for the new building.
Construction in Newport could begin by the end of this month, upping the number of bays from six to eight and creating an additional 6,500 square feet. The old station at North James and East Justis streets will continue to operate while the new one is built on the same property.
"You stick with what you've got as long as you can," Minquas President Dave Haines said of his crowded fire department. "But at some point, you have to throw in the towel and say it's not working anymore."
Overcrowding is common for many fire departments. Additional space is needed because calls have increased with new housing development. Also, because of the threat of terrorism, firefighters need training for environmental disasters, and chemical and biological emergencies.
Daniel Burris, president of the Volunteer Hose Fire Company of Middletown, said fire calls at his department have increased from about 300 to 550 in the past several years.
"We're the people who get called for everything: It doesn't matter what it is," said Tom Mitten, spokesman for the New Castle County Volunteer Firemen's Association. "And the fire department pretty much always shows up. You can depend on it. And we have to give [firefighters] the equipment they need to do that job."
A new fire station is being built in Delaware City, sparked in large part by a need for space. The building under construction on Del. 9, which could be completed in June, also will provide quicker access to major highways than the old downtown fire station on Clinton Street, Assistant Chief Dave Carpenter said.
Like Minquas, Delaware City has had to park its fire engines in front of each other. Both also have boats for river rescues, and precious time is lost moving one piece of equipment to get to another, officials at both stations said.
Delaware City will have two separate bays for ambulances and five 80-foot bays for trucks, with exits on both ends. That compares with three one-way bays at the old station. Two of the older bays are only 55 feet, adequate when the station was built in 1926, but woefully short for newer fire engines.
Some of today's fire engines are longer than 40 feet, compared with about 25 feet in the 1950s, said Todd Hannah, sales manager for Delmarva American LaFrance in Marydel, a dealer for one of the leading manufacturers of firefighting vehicles and ambulances.
Fire engines are longer in part, he said, because firefighters are no longer allowed to ride standing at the back of the trucks. The engines now are outfitted with cabins to accommodate the crew, which has added to the length.
Ladder lengths also have increased from about 75 feet to as long as 110 feet to reach upper floors of tall buildings and contain industrial fires.
Some fire departments have experienced indoor traffic jams because they have added ambulances.
The Townsend Fire Company completed a major renovation last year that included adding three bays to accommodate a field truck and two ambulances acquired after the department began an ambulance service seven years ago, Chief David Hall Sr. said.
Hall said the addition to the front of the 25-year-old station also includes office space and sleeping quarters for the ambulance crews, something the original building did not have.
Many of the state's older fire stations were built with the thought that volunteers would respond to emergencies from their homes, fire officials said. But spurred in part by legislation that requires ambulances to get out of the door within six minutes of a fire call, some stations have added paid staff and established overnight shifts.
The Volunteer Hose Fire Company of Middletown added sleeping and bathroom accommodations for men and women when it built its new station three years ago on Green Street. About 20 of the department's 125 active volunteers are women, Burris said.
The 38,000-square-foot building is several times larger than the old firehouse on Broad Street and features 12 engine bays, four more than at the old station. Some of those extra bays were needed because Middletown also started an ambulance service about seven years ago, Burris said.
In Newport, Haines said, the upcoming $2 million-plus construction project, to be financed by the fire company with help from contributions, will allow a separate bay for each firetruck. The old building will be torn down when the new one is completed next spring.
