Athol Police Station resumes full operations after flooding

ATHOL – Police Chief Craig Lundgren said that while part of the police station remains closed following flooding caused by a burst sprinkler head, they have resumed full operations.

Lundgren said adjusters from the town’s insurance company are due to tour the building sometime this week.

“We actually got lucky, if there’s any part of this that is lucky, because the front part of the building is still available to us,” he said.

The front portion of the building, he said, includes his office, the lieutenant’s office, a meeting room big enough for computer stations to be moved there, the dispatch center and a bathroom.

“So, what the break affected is the back half of the building,” he said. “About half of the building has been closed off completely, so we can’t even go back there.”

“We actually got lucky, if there’s any part of this that is lucky, because the front part of the building is still available to us.”

Police Chief Craig Lundgren

The back portion of the building, said Lundgren, includes a training room and storage space, along with a meeting room for in-house trainings. There are also offices for the detective and court officer. Those rooms have been shut down and moved to the front of the building.

Lundgren said the damaged part of the station is undergoing “complete destruction.”

“We’re still looking at a six-month project, because everything that got soaked has to be torn down, has to be taken out and removed; carpets, walls….part of the roof that’s in the back part of the building has to be inspected,” he said. “So, it’s still going to be a major project, but at least with it being walled off, all the important offices are up and functioning because they’re now in the front of the building.”

In the wake of the flooding, Athol Police was able to borrow the Orange Police Department’s mobile command post, which was placed near the Athol station’s main entrance. Lundgren said the unit is still in the parking lot, though not being used at the moment, and will likely be taken back to Orange by the end of the week.

With all of the station’s offices now occupying the front of the building, Lundgren said, “We are back to 100% functioning. The only thing right now is that, being shut down for over a week, we’re a little backed up on firearms licensing and public records requests. That takes a little time to get caught up. But the public can come to the front door like they normally would; they won’t even notice a difference.”