At Town Meeting in May 2025, voters authorized a borrowing of up to $300,000 for the schematic design of a new Fire Department Headquarters. That vote followed months of planning and discussion by the Select Board, which had prioritized a new Fire Station due largely to health and safety deficiencies in the current headquarters on Kendall Road as well as due to condition and size constraints. The Kendall Road station serves as the department's headquarters and is the only staffed station in Town.

Leading up to the Town Meeting vote, the Town Manager, Fire Chief, and Select Board worked with a public safety architecture firm to identify the best location for a new building with a focus on the following:

• Town-owned parcels to avoid additional acquisition costs;
• Located within the Town Center to ensure adequate response time across town;
• Contained at least 1.67 acres of buildable land as identified by the architect based on our space program.

Following this review, the Select Board identified the town-owned parcel at 250 Middlesex Road as the best site for a new fire station based on the parameters above. The Board confirmed that while the most ideal location on the site for a new Fire Headquarters was in place of the old Winslow School, the new headquarters could be accommodated on the rear of the parcel without impacting the Winslow School.

At a joint meeting with the Historical Commission on Monday, October 6, 2025, the Select Board voted to direct the Town Manager to move forward with a schematic design of a completely new building with no reuse of any part of the Winslow School. At that same meeting, the Board formally established the Fire Station Building Committee ("FSBC") and is currently seeking applications from residents to fill the two (2) resident at-large seats. Learn more about that here.

You can review the presentation from the joint meeting here.

Additionally, on October 7, 2025, the Town awarded a contract to H2M Architects + Engineers to begin the schematic design work with a goal of having a completed schematic design and construction cost estimates ready in time to be considered as early as the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting.

Next Steps:

1. October 20, 2025 — The Select Board is expected to review and appoint the members of the Fire Station Building Committee, including a representative from the Select Board and two (2) residents at large.
2. October 20, 2025 — The Select Board will contemplate the preferred location of a new building on the site. Should the Select Board determine that building the new Fire Headquarters in the place of the Winslow School is the best approach, funding to demolish the Winslow School would require Town Meeting approval — likely included in the vote to fund the overall project.

Members of the public who wish to provide input, specifically around the placement of the building on the site, may do so during Citizen and Business time at the October 20, 2025, Select Board meeting or by submitting written comments for the Board's consideration to administration@tyngsboroughma.gov. 

To learn more about the project and review related documents, visit the Fire Station Building Committee page here.