HARTFORD — Construction began last month on a $1.3 million project to add living and office space to Hartford Fire Department’s Station No. 2 in Quechee.

Voters last March approved a bond for the approximately 1,600-square-foot station addition — which is scheduled for completion by Sept. 1.

“We were looking at how to equalize response times throughout the department’s service area,” Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney said by phone Monday.

The extra space will allow the department to staff the station — located on a 1.7-acre parcel at 131 Willard Road — around the clock with two firefighters, Cooney said. It also will house an ambulance and a fire truck.

The additional staffing and equipment in Quechee is expected to reduce fire and emergency medical services (EMS) response times to the Quechee and West Hartford villages.

During construction by Lyme-based Estes and Gallup, the Quechee station is not being staffed, and all equipment has been relocated to the main station.

Though fire department vehicles have been stationed in Quechee since at least 1983 on land deeded to the town by the Quechee Lakes Landowner’s Association, it wasn’t until this decade that the department identified a need to expand there.

The average response time for fire and EMS calls in most of Hartford is about seven and a half minutes, Cooney said.

But in Quechee and West Hartford — which account for about 25% of the department’s roughly 2,700 annual fire and EMS calls — the response time is roughly double that, Cooney said.

With town approval, the fire department leased a two-bedroom trailer that was placed beside the Quechee station in 2021 to allow a study of the impact of locating on-call staff there.

Response times in Quechee and West Hartford overall were brought in line with the department average.

During the study period, Hartford’s ambulance was able to respond to a medical emergency at Lake Pinneo in Quechee in less than four minutes, Cooney said, resulting in a positive outcome for the patient.

Roughly 70% of all 911 calls to the Fire Department are medical, rather than fire-related, Cooney said. Having an ambulance in Quechee is “a real benefit,” he added.

The staffing and response study was part of a community risk assessment attached to the accreditation process through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. The Hartford Fire Department is the only department in Vermont to hold this accreditation. The process also involves self-assessment, peer review from other accredited departments and the development of a five-year strategic plan.

Cooney believes the work involved in maintaining the department’s accreditation is worth the effort.

“I think this project speaks to the effectiveness of the accreditation process, which is data-driven,” Cooney said. “You build a stronger agency because you’re inviting people to identify weaknesses that you didn’t even recognize,” he added.

The new office space will serve the Hartford Police Department as well as fire and EMS staff.

For officers assigned to patrol the Quechee sector during their 12-hour shifts, “having an office or desk space at the new fire station will provide the sector officer with a place to do paperwork, eat lunch, take a break, or simply use the restroom while still being in Quechee and not having to return to the main station,” Hartford Police Chief Greg Sheldon said by email Tuesday.

Christina Dolan can be reached at cdolan@vnews.com or 603-727-3208.