Can fire station be saved?

It's a problem that would make any homeowner's palms sweat. A beautiful old home's floor is too weak to support the furniture. But, in this case, the home is a 115-year-old fire station and the ''furniture" is a 42,000-pound ladder truck.

The Moody Street Fire Station in Waltham hasn't been able to house its firetrucks and heavy equipment since March, after engineers reported that the floor could no longer reliably support the weight. Fire Engine No. 1 has been forced onto the concrete parking apron outside. The station's ladder truck is now at the nearby Prospect Street station. And the city was forced to discard a temporary remedy when the cost turned out to be twice what had been expected.

Now, as city officials are pursuing another short-term solution, they are digesting a consultant's report on whether the station is worth saving in the long run.

In a report issued last month, the Maguire Group, an architectural and engineering firm, offered this assessment of the station: ''The wood joists and concrete floor are in advanced state of deterioration. Large shear cracks were observed at the joist ends in several locations. Exposed and rusted reinforcing bars were also observed in a few locations."

The Moody Street station is responsible for protecting thousands of homes on the city's south side from fire, covering an area that stretches to the Waterton, Newton, and Weston lines.

Waltham Fire Chief Thomas Keough said that relocation of the ladder truck has reduced response time by an average of a minute, depending on traffic and weather conditions.

When asked whether all the stress of the memos shuttled back and forth between city officials, the parade of engineers and consultants walking through the station's most intimate spaces, and the sudden starts and stops of the repair plans have ever given him a headache, the chief chose his words carefully.

''No comment," Keough said, after a slight twitch of his white handlebar mustache.

But he does acknowledge that the uncertainty can be frustrating.

''We were basically evicted, other than our personnel. When you have an engineer say, 'You can't use the equipment,' you have to move," Keough said.

Last July, an engineering firm, Flood Consulting, gave the city the option of either replacing the wood beams with concrete footings and steel frames, or filling in part of the basement with concrete and replacing the wood with steel. It recommended the first option.

But, when they were called before City Council in April, Flood Consulting and Building Commissioner Ralph Gaudet reversed that decision and recommended the second option. A second engineering firm, called in at the mayor's request, agreed.

Bids for that project went out in May, and work was supposed to begin as soon as possible after the bid due date of June 1. But instead of the $257,000 originally estimated, the bids ranged from $488,000 and $552,000.

At the city's request, Maguire offered its own temporary solution -- a combination of steel beams and wood columns to shore up the floor in the area where the ladder truck usually parks, with extra support underneath the tires. Maguire, however, couldn't say what that would cost.

From the outside, the station is a neat brick building with a tower at the back, so quaint that it was once featured on the front of an International Association of Firefighters Christmas card. But inside are signs that it may have outlived its usefulness.

Cracks line the bays where trucks are normally parked. Bumpers have been installed on the sides of the doorways to reduce the risk of damage when a truck squeezes through a space built for water tanks pulled by horse and buggy. The basement is damp and, despite fans running in the exercise room, a little stuffy. Its ceiling is marred by peeling tar paper and, in a few spots, crumbling concrete.

The firefighters, though, have tried to make do. In one section of the basement is a cozy, overstuffed leather club chair next to a bucket of sand, an impromptu smoking lounge.

''This is their second home," Keough said of the firefighters. But, while firefighters over generations have formed a sentimental attachment to the building, they are increasingly aware of its limitation.

For four years, running, the chief has been requesting a new station.

''You have the same concerns for this building as your own home," he said. ''You hate to see damage; you hate to see neglect. You try to keep up with things. But there comes a time when you have to invest in something else."

Stephanie V. Siek can be reached via e-mail at ssiek@globe.com.