LENOX, Mass. - When Lenox firefighters take trucks out on a call, they have to be careful not to clip the doors on the way out of the fire station.

Fire Chief Chris O'Brien said it's just one of several issues with the 112-year-old building.

"They thought it out in 1909 for 100 years, they got 100 plus years out of it, so they did a very good job in planning. But now, as you can see when we walk around, we have very limited room, we have very limited storage spots," Chris O'Brien said.

Next door, O'Brien's brother, Lenox Police Chief Stephen O'Brien, is facing similar challenges working out of the basement of the town hall, built in 1901.

He said their facilities are also cramped and lack storage space, on top of issues with the building itself.

Stephen O'Brien said, "We have had incidents of some plumbing problems when gravity takes effect, and we are on the ground floor. We have other incidents of air quality concerns."

Both chiefs are working with the Town on plans to build a new public safety building for both departments.

Select board member Ed Lane said they're making progress, but there's still a lot to be resolved, including how to pay for it, which must be approved at Town Meeting.

"We can't just defer capital spending and put it all into one project, say a public safety building. Yeah, we could come up with the money to just do it, but it would take away from so many other things," Lane said. 

Fire Chief O'Brien acknowledges a new facility is still years away, but he's cautiously optimistic they'll one day have more space to work.

"I think that the majority of the taxpayers can see the need, and have seen the need," Chris O'Brien said. "The first step is the hardest step. Once you take the first step, everything else will fall in place."