Amazon wants to come to Hudson. What would it bring? Along with traffic, pollution, noise and a burden on town resources comes the very real possibility of a damaging fire. Google the Amazon Redlands fire. Just this past June 5, 2020, the 3-year old LA-area facility (the size of just 1 of the 3 buildings proposed here) burned to the ground despite the efforts of 6 fire departments and presumably the latest in fire suppression systems; parked trucks also burned. Adjacent Highway 10 was shut down.

Does Hudson have the capability, equipment and personnel to handle such a massive fire? Here, there would be 3 massive buildings up to 50 feet high. Amazon is the proposed tenant for the two larger buildings. What is the flammability of the contents of the buildings? Adjacent to the building there will be diesel-fueled tractor trailer trucks and box trucks. The proposed buildings would have 363 loading docks, 840 additional truck parking spots and around 1800 car parking spots. Diesel and gasoline are highly flammable. I googled this: 1 gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 14 sticks of dynamite! Also check out the semi-truck fire and chemical leak at an Amazon facility in Phoenix in July. People were told to shelter in place. Will Hudson need additional hazmat or other equipment to put out such facility or diesel fires?

Has Hudson developed a detailed emergency fire protection plan for such an emergency? How quickly could other area fire departments respond to assist? Would all the needed fire equipment be able to access and get close to the buildings if there are already other trucks parked there? If the highways and local roads had to close, is there an evacuation plan for the employees, neighbors in the nearby residential areas and the rest of Hudson? Could they handle fires spreading to the nearby residential areas? Consider how far the smoke, fumes and debris would spread through the air and even into the Merrimack River. Are Hudson, Nashua, Tyngsborough and other towns prepared for that?

The Hudson Planning Board will need to ensure that the Hudson and other regional fire departments have detailed fire emergency plans, equipment and personnel to handle such an emergency. The Hudson Fire Department, the Town of Hudson and the taxpayers will need to ensure that they are prepared to purchase additional equipment and hire additional personnel should that be needed.

A project this massive belongs in a wide open or industrial area not in an area surrounded by residential neighborhoods. So, the big question is: “Is this really what Hudson wants or needs? Visit savehudsonnh.org for more information.

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