37 Ridge Road — The Right Site
42 acres, city-owned, clean upland — the site where Nashua can build the state-of-the-art training facility our firefighters deserve.
We Stand With Our Firefighters
The residents of Ward 5 have the highest regard for our firefighters. On February 2, 2026, three Nashua firefighters were injured in a gas explosion responding to protect our community. We know firsthand what they face, and we believe they deserve the best training possible.
That's exactly why we want a long-term plan — not an ill-conceived proposal that changes every Zoning Board meeting, squeezed into a corner of an already packed landfill where there's no room to expand. Spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a temporary patch at Four Hills costs all of us — financially, in the health risks it creates for our neighborhoods, and in the legal liability the City takes on by knowingly placing an airborne PFAS-producing facility inside a dense residential area. Our firefighters deserve a facility they can grow into for decades, not one they'll be forced to abandon when the landfill needs to expand.
The Facility Our Firefighters Deserve
Nashua's firefighters need a modern, state-of-the-art training facility — and they deserve one built right. 37 Ridge Road is a 42-acre, city-owned parcel that gives them five times the space, room to expand, and none of the environmental liabilities of building on a contaminated landfill next to endangered species habitat. This isn't just an alternative — it's the right site.
37 Ridge Road — Dispersion Map
Same prevailing winds — but at a significantly higher elevation, pollutants and PFAS disperse over remote forests and wooded areas, not residential neighborhoods. No homes, no schools, no playgrounds downwind.
What 37 Ridge Road Offers
A site that gives Nashua’s fire service everything they need — and room to grow:
- 42 acres — five times larger than the proposed 9-acre landfill site
- City-owned — no land acquisition costs
- Clean upland terrain — no wetlands, no vernal pools, no contaminated soil
- 1,000+ ft from any home — live burns, night training, and hazmat exercises without impacting residents
- 35-acre buffer for future expansion as an all-hazards regional center
- 86 PSI water pressure — well above the minimum for fire training operations
- Direct road access — adequate for fire apparatus and emergency vehicles
This is the kind of site where Nashua can build a facility that serves firefighters for generations — not a constrained 9-acre compromise wedged between a landfill and a neighborhood.
The Conservation Easement — Already Solved
The parcel has a conservation easement (2007, Society for the Protection of NH Forests). The city cited this as a barrier — but the easement itself provides the path forward.
Section 9 (“Condemnation / Extinguishment”) explicitly allows the city to modify or extinguish the easement through eminent domain for public necessity:
- This provision was negotiated into the original document — the drafters anticipated exactly this scenario
- Fire protection, emergency access, and water infrastructure qualify as public necessity
- The city retains the highest form of governmental authority to reclaim land for essential public services
- A detailed legal analysis was submitted for the ZBA hearing packet (November 25, 2025)
The people who wrote this easement built in a mechanism for exactly this kind of situation — a future public safety need that justifies using the land. The legal path is already there.
Infrastructure: A Straightforward Upgrade
The only infrastructure needed is a pipe upgrade — and the numbers already work.
The city’s own revised flow requirement is 2,000 GPM (reduced from an original 3,500+ GPM). Peter Tedder of Pennichuck Water Works confirmed a 12-inch pipe fully meets this requirement at Ridge Road’s elevation:
| Factor | 8-Inch Pipe | 12-Inch Pipe |
|---|---|---|
| Meets 2,000 GPM at Ridge Road elevation | No | Yes |
| Scope | — | 500ft replacement + 900ft new line |
Pounds of Pressure
The Cost Is Minimal
The $588,000 estimate is based on a private contractor. But at the November 25, 2025 ZBA hearing, Attorney Prolman stated: “The DPW who plans to do this themselves, they don’t intend to hire a third-party contractor” [30:02]. DPW is already doing its own pipe work at Teak Drive — the same crew could handle Ridge Road for a fraction of the quoted price. Replace 500 feet of undersized pipe, add 900 feet of new line, and a 42-acre site is fully operational.
For Context: The Pipe Specs at Both Sites
The city revised its own flow requirements from 3,500+ GPM down to 2,000 GPM after an engineering review — which is exactly the threshold a 12-inch pipe at Ridge Road meets. Here’s how the two sites compare:
At Teak Drive: The city ended up specifying an 8-inch pipe at 2,000 GPM — far less than the original 3,500+ GPM presented at the ZBA.
At 37 Ridge Road: A 12-inch pipe fully meets the revised 2,000 GPM requirement. The higher elevation actually delivers better, more consistent water pressure — 86 PSI vs. the unstable sub-60 PSI at the current location.
Why Ridge Road Is the Right Choice
- Our firefighters get more — 42 acres with room to expand vs. a cramped 9-acre landfill site
- No environmental liabilities — no PFAS remediation costs, no wetland mitigation, no endangered species review
- No neighborhood conflict — 1,000+ ft from the nearest home, no residents impacted by smoke, noise, or traffic
- Every objection has been resolved — the conservation easement has a built-in override, and the infrastructure upgrade is straightforward
- Lower long-term cost — $588K in pipe work vs. the eventual remediation costs at a contaminated landfill site
Site Plan Summary
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Parcel | 42 acres, city-owned |
| Training Pad | Large perimeter area, center of parcel |
| Parking | Dedicated lot, north side |
| Misc. Facilities | Classroom / support buildings |
| Access Road | From Ridge Road, paved |
| Water Line | New 12-inch line to training pad |
| Front Setback | Per R-40 zoning requirements |
| Nearest Residence | 1,000+ ft from training pad |
Citizen-prepared proposal by Rody Arantes, November 2025
Neighborhood Compatibility
The training area would be over 1,000 ft from the nearest residential structure, with no direct line of sight due to topography and vegetative cover. This distance exceeds standard municipal separation thresholds and provides natural sound attenuation. Live burns, pump evolutions, and night training can occur without perceptible noise or glare impacts.
Comparative Evaluation
| Criteria | Proposed Landfill (9 acres) | 37 Ridge Road (42 acres) |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | City | City |
| Total Area | 9 acres | 42 acres (5x larger) |
| Environmental Conditions | Adjacent to landfill — odor, dust, methane | No wetlands, stable uplands |
| Accessibility | Limited via landfill route | Private access via Ridge Road |
| Water Pressure | Unstable, <60 PSI | Consistent 86 PSI |
| Privacy | Minimal, exposed | 1,000 ft buffer, no line of sight |
| Expansion Potential | None | 35-acre buffer for future needs |