Orangeburg city officials say there is no need to be alarmed about the current work going on at the 79-year historic Orangeburg Fire Department firehouse building on Middleton Street.

The building is being renovated — with an eye toward preservation — to serve as the future Orangeburg City Council chambers, City Administrator John Yow said.

Preliminary plans, pending approval by City Council, call for the placement of council chambers on the first floor along with a conference room, expansive lobby area and possible office space and restrooms, Yow said.

An upgrade of chamber audio, visual and communications capabilities is planned. Seating capacity is also expected to increase within council chambers.

The second floor will serve as attic space.

Along with building renovations, the project will include a parking lot upgrade behind the firehouse and landscaping. Additional landscape work will also be done near City Hall and Stevenson Auditorium.

The design phase of the project is expected to reach completion within two to three months.

Renovations on the building are tentatively projected for completion by middle to late 2007 with parking lot work reaching completion in late 2007 or early 2008, Yow said.

West Summers is serving as project architect. The entire project is expected to cost between $700,000 to $800,000.

The city service department is handling the exterior demolition portion of the project.

Yow said discussions about possible renovations of the building have been ongoing for a couple of years since the city received requests from residents to move council meetings to the Stevenson Auditorium.

Current council chambers are located on the second floor and are not easily accessible, particularly for the elderly and handicapped, Yow said.

Yow said the project is intended to meet three main objectives:

-- Maintain the structure and historic essence of the building.

-- Make the council chambers more accessible to public and visitors.

-- Increase parking around City Hall.

“This fits in with our downtown revitalization and long-term plans,” Yow said.

“The city has done a fine job in maintaining our old historic structures,” said Bernice Tribble, Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association executive director. “It will be a great annex for City Hall.”

Tribble noted that when handicapped residents have expressed a desire to attend council meetings, they were required to call ahead of time and the meeting would have to be moved to Stevenson Auditorium to accommodate.

“We think it will make a great facility and will work a lot better for council meetings,” Tribble said. “That little block of Middleton will be a very attractive block when the work is finished.”

The renovations are the end of an era for the firehouse and its service in fire protection.

The Orangeburg Fire Department’s roots go back to 1854 when a group of residents recognized the need for fire protection in a growing Orangeburg. And so the Young American Fire Engine Company was born.

The group purchased a hand-pumping engine, named it the Comet and established its headquarters in a building which at the present time would be in front of First Baptist Church on Russell Street.

From its humble beginnings, the department has moved several times before locating adjacent to City Hall in 1927 about seven years after the volunteer departments consolidated under city governance. Orangeburg’s population had grown at the time to about 8,776 residents requiring more efficient fire services.

Groundbreaking for the firehouse was held Jan. 24, 1927, and was part of a broader construction project that included Stevenson Auditorium, City Hall and the city police department and jail. The latter was located in the current Orangeburg Department of Public Works building.

The contractor for the project was Sanford, N.C.-based J.W. Stout and Co. Project architects and engineers were G. Lloyd Preacher and Co. from Atlanta.

To accompany the growth, the department has expanded its scope both in equipment, personnel and stations.

An additional station was built in 1967 on Chestnut Street and two substations were built — one on Kennerly Road and the other on Prosperity Drive.

In April of this year, the city’s fire department, which came under the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety umbrella about 13 years ago, relocated its headquarters to 1320 Middleton St. at the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Headquarters and Municipal Court.

The DPS public safety division was located at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Law Enforcement Complex.

-- T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.

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