VIDEO: After a bit of a delay, the six-story brick building that generations of Providence firefighters used for training is coming down. A crane needed for the project wasn’t available until Tuesday, so at 8 a.m. crews were able to start demolishing the tower.
While the tower has been on Dexter Street for more than 100 years, Providence City Councilor James Taylor, a former firefighter, said it has been out of service for about two decades due to safety concerns. Having trained on the tower in the late 1980s, Taylor added that it evokes “a lot of nostalgia.” โItโs kind of sad to see it go on the fire side because I was actually trained there, but also, itโs like an icon in the West End that people know that theyโve been driving by,โ he said.
Crews used a wrecking ball to knock down the brick and concrete exterior of the tower, but the process was slow going due to the steel beams holding it all together.
