The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia are investing more than $8.8 million to upgrade 10 fire halls across British Columbia.
The funding comes from Canada Infrastructure Program’s new COVID-19 Community Resilience stream. Canada is contributing over $7.1 million, and B.C. is contributing almost $1.7 million.
“Our firefighters work hard each and every day to keep us safe, and we have to do our part to ensure they have the tools necessary to safely manage fires in their communities,” stated Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “This infrastructure funding a positive step forward in greater public safety around the province.”
Upgrading fire halls will improve critical services to residents through more efficient facilities and reduced response times. These upgrades also help meet seismic requirements and operational needs in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.
Among these projects, the City of Quesnel will undergo renovations to bring the facility up to current building and accessibility codes and standards, and increase the lifespan of the building by 15 to 20 years. These upgrades will provide a change room for female firefighters, increase the size of apparatus bays, increase public safety, decrease occupational hazards, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, the deteriorating foundation of the fire hall building will be replaced. The existing foundation condition puts the fire hall and public works building at risk of further damage and limited operations. Once the structural foundation is replaced, the building will be better able to provide continued service operations.
In Thompson-Nicola, both the Vavenby and Blackpool Fire Halls will undergo construction of an additional apparatus bay to safely house a Structural Protection Unit (SPU), a large storage unit for fire protection equipment. These types of SPUs help respond more quickly and effectively, and to help protect assets such as individual homes, cabins, ranches and other businesses.
“More efficient and safer fire hall infrastructure can help reduce emergency response time, which can save lives,” said Ken Hardie, MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells. “Canada’s Infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates good jobs across Canada, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities.”
