E.P. Fire Chief: 'A Lot on Our Plate'

Acting East Providence Fire Chief Oscar Elmasian used his official introduction at the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Jan. 8, to talk about the fire department.

“This is a very important time period in the department,” Elmasian said after he was introduced by City Manager Peter Graczykowski, who appointed him acting fire chief on Dec. 31 with the retirement of Joseph Klucznik.

“We have $6 million worth of renovations that will be quite extensive,” he said, referring to Station 1 on Broadway – the department’s headquarters -- and  Kent Heights Station 4 on Wampanoag Trail.

“Administration has been moved to the Sweetland House,” Elmasian said, which the department now shares with the Community Policing Department. Station 4 is operating out of a temporary facility on Amaral Street.

Both projects are being “repriced” with the general contractors to stay within budget, he said. Final cost figures are anticipated within a week.

The contractors also were told at a preconstruction meeting that there is a tight time frame to complete the projects because federal grant money is being used for the renovations. There is no room in those budgets for cost overruns, he said.

The architect for both projects, Starck Associates, will oversee construction with a fire department battalion chief and the captains at each station working with them and the architect. They will report directly to him, Elmasian said.

The acting fire chief may have been even more excited about the delivery on Monday, Jan. 14, of the fire training facility to be erected at the city garage.

The training facility, made up of four 40-foot cargo containers. will operate on gas and other Class A combustibles, he said, such as paper, wood and straw. It will provide advanced technical resolutions, building resolutions and high-rise firefighting capabilities, he said.

“We’ve got a lot on our plate,” Elmasan said. “But I have a lot of great people working under me.”

Elmasian has been a member of the East Providence Fire Department for 26 years. He will continue to serve also as the city's fire marshal with Assistant Fire Marshal James Bellamy assuming more responsibility in the fire prevention office.