SOUTHAMPTON — Stepping over fire hoses and wires, Southampton Fire Chief Richard Fasoli opened the driver’s door to one of the fire engines as far as he could on a recent afternoon during a tour of the aging and cramped public safety complex. The walls of the engine bay loomed so close on either side of the vehicle, the door could open only partway.

“Whoever drives engine four usually puts their gear on at the scene, which can slow them down,” Fasoli said. “When they have their gear on, it’s almost impossible to get inside.”

In his office, he pointed to the ceiling, where portions of the tiles were sagging or missing from water damage. When he touched the brickwork outside one of the station’s bay doors, a piece of it crumbled away.

Southampton’s current fire and police stations present a number of issues due to age and structural inefficiencies. The fire station was built out of a schoolhouse constructed in 1863, and the police station operates out of the old town hall building, constructed in 1904.

Relief may be on the horizon for fire and police personnel. Last Tuesday, Town Meeting voters approved an article that represents an enormous step toward a new public safety complex that would one day house both departments. Voters agreed to buy 52 acres off College Highway for $2.2 million.

The property, far larger than needed for a public safety complex, will have enough room for other needs in the future. Some options on the table include playing fields, affordable housing, or potentially a new senior center after a separate land acquisition proposed for that project was passed over at Town Meeting due to the property’s limitations and environmental complications.

Fasoli and Southampton Police Chief Ian Illingsworth see Tuesday’s vote as an encouraging step in the right direction, but planning and development are still a ways away and pending another town ballot vote.

“The central location of this plot of land is imperative to public safety,” Illingsworth said.

The fire and police departments currently operate out of buildings that pose a host of unique challenges for those who work there. At the fire station, lack of space presents difficulties for responders, who must share lockers and park ambulances against one another to fit them inside.

The station also does not have enough space for its own gear wash, requiring gear to be driven to Easthampton for the day to be cleaned of the dangerous carcinogens that cling to them after fires.

Aside from space limitations, complications from age such as leaks, mold, and electrical mishaps present daily challenges.

“About four years ago we had an electrician come in, and after a while, he came down his ladder looking for a fire extinguisher,” said Fasoli. “So we had to put out a fire at the fire station.”

At the police station, space is less of an issue, but problems arise from the building’s structure and layout. The station lacks a sally port for the secure and private transfer of people from police cruisers to the station. The building also has challenges meeting ADA compliance requirements, including a steep step dropping off from the lobby into the main hallway.

“If someone has mobility issues, I don’t know how we’d get them down here from the lobby,” Illingsworth said. “They also wouldn’t be able to reach the phone in the lobby to contact dispatch, which is an issue because our lobby isn’t staffed 24/7.”

Because the building was originally a town hall, its layout also doesn’t align smoothly with its current function. A main concern is the location of the station’s holding cells, which are located just past the lobby, requiring victims and officers to walk past them on their way to the offices.

“We could have a victim of domestic violence in here, and they’d have to walk right past their perpetrator to get to the office,” said Illingsworth. “That in itself is like re-victimizing someone.”

Like the fire station, the police station’s aging infrastructure is apparent as well, as dated IT systems become easily overloaded by their modern demands.

“We want to support recruitment and retention, but this environment doesn’t present the professionalism you’d want,” Ilingsworth said.

After receiving 124 “yes” votes and 6 “no” votes at Tuesday’s Town Meeting, the issue will move forward for another round of voting on a future ballot. It will not appear on the town’s annual election ballot on Tuesday, May 21 because land acquisition votes require a minimum of 35 days after Town Meeting to appear on another ballot.

“We need to figure out the best time to have a vote and get the most people out for it,” said Southampton Select Board Chair Chris Fowles. “Mid-June would be the earliest, but it could end up being as late as early September with the state primary elections.”

“I know our town sees the need and supports us,” Illingsworth said. “It all comes down to the financial impact it’ll have on them.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com or on Instagram and Twitter at @alexamlewis.