Posted: 02/09/2013 01:00:00 AM EST
Friday February 8, 2013 
are preparing for a new structure on village-owned property on Gilbert Street, opposite the Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad. The effort has taken some 10 years of organization to this point, and now a series of public informational sessions has been scheduled. The first session is this Monday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at the current firehouse, followed by a second session Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.; a third at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 2; and a fourth again at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13. There will be a PowerPoint presentation, tour of the current firehouse, and history of the new firehouse project followed by a question and answer period at the meetings. The date for a formal public hearing and village-wide referendum on the bonded project has not yet been set.
CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. -- Gregory Stroffoleno, a recent recruit with the Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department, illustrates the cramped quarters inside the department's current building at 11 West Main St. When suiting up for a fire call, a half-dozen first responders will attempt to put on their gear beside the fire truck in the narrow quarters pictured. The rest of the space is equally constrained with the department's five fire apparatus parked, requiring stooping and shimmying to reach the other side of the room, bathrooms or kitchen area. The department was founded in 1866 and its current building was built in 1951.
Given a coverage area of 62 square miles today, department and Cambridge village officials
Gregory Stroffoleno, of the Cambridge, N.Y. Volunteer Fire Department, demonstrates the tight quarters in the firehouse. Officials are planning to build a new, larger facility, and will host informational meetings and tours of the current firehouse in coming weeks. (Zeke Wright)
-- Zeke Wright
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