The bad weather didn’t dampen the mood today as Mayor Lois Jackson and others put shovels to the ground for the ceremonial start of construction of Delta’s new fire hall and training centre near Boundary Bay Airport.
Besides housing the fire department, the 12,739-square-foot building located near the 80th Street overpass will also include a post-disaster emergency operations centre, corporate training centre and fire training facility. The $9.6 million facility is scheduled for completion next May.
Jackson said the former Fire Hall No. 4 on Highway 10 was simply too small to meet the fire department’s needs, so several years ago work began to have a new modern training facility.
A regular audit of fire response times found ideal times were not being met consistently in East Ladner.
Thanking city staff for all their work, as well as recently retired fire chief Dan Copeland, Jackson said it will serve not only the growing industrial area and the airport, but also the provincial highways and lands south of the B.C. Rail line.
“This is really a very worthwhile project and it’s taken a long time to get here. The new building is going to serve us for years and years to come,” said Jackson.
Paul Scholfield, the new fire chief, said the concept of the new fire hall began with the start of construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road years earlier, a project which prompted the city to review its emergency response times.
“The study determined that Delta’s fire halls were well placed and sufficient to respond to fires and other emergencies. However, the one exception was the former Hall Four, located at Highway 10 and 99. It was not functioning sufficiently as either a fire hall or training centre, so the recommendation was to relocate a short way here to Boundary Bay Airport. Part of that study also recommended the 80th Street overpass, which has really improved accessibility to the airport and industries at the same time,” he said.
“Some of the trains crossing here could be nine thousand feet long and would often block access to the road to the airport here. The relocation has not only provided a perfect opportunity to plan and build not only a fully functioning fire hall, but to provide an enhanced training centre and emergency operations centre. This is to be the first dedicated, fully functioning fire training centre and emergency operation centre in the department’s history. Delta’s staff have done their due diligence to ensure it meets current and future needs of the community,” Scholfield said.
Mike McMillan, president of fire fighters’ union Local 1763, said the challenges his members face are getting more dangerous, including fires and motor vehicle incidents, so specialty training is more important than ever.
The initial round of tenders for construction that closed in last year indicated the project as initially designed was going to exceed the available budget, so while council approved contracts for the site preparation at that time, it directed staff to modify the design to reduce the overall project costs and keep it within budget. Staff went back to the architect and fire department and revised the design, which brought the project costs down significantly.
