Construction of the new Fire Hall 2 on Tantalus Road is now over, marking the completion of the second of three critical facilities identified for priority replacement in the District of Squamish’s 2019 Real Estate and Facilities Master Plan.
The community is invited to visit the new fire hall at the Squamish Fire Rescue annual family-friendly Open House on Sunday, October 6, between 12 and 3 p.m. Public fire hall tours and equipment will be offered throughout the day.
“These are critical life safety facilities that we have invested in substantially, and not only does this ensure our firefighters have access to appropriate facilities, but it vastly improves our community resiliency,” says District of Squamish Mayor Armand Hurford. “Council set an ambitious goal to upgrade critical facilities and safeguard the needs of our rapidly growing community now and into the future. It’s very exciting that two of these facilities are complete with many more upgrades planned or already underway throughout our community.”
The new hall meets fire protection and firefighting standards, including a decontamination space to help reduce exposure to cancer-causing contaminants throughout the firehall.
Built in 1978, the original Tantalus Fire Hall lacked seismic, environmental and general structural integrity that, even with renovations, could not meet the needs of the District. The new Fire Hall 2 is a net zero, all-electric, post-disaster building comprising three apparatus bays with administration office areas, four dorm rooms, washrooms, a training room, kitchen, and decontamination rooms for post-incident cleanup.
Fire Hall 2 will operate as a paid-on-call fire hall but is designed to support full-time crews in the future. The building can accommodate up to 46 firefighters and support four storeys of apartments above.
“This new facility enhances our ability to quickly provide service to the community and support our firefighters,” said Squamish Fire Rescue Chief Aaron Foote. “Fire Hall 2 is a state-of-the art facility that allows Squamish Fire Rescue to accommodate the increased needs of a growing town and to service the community with the highest quality of emergency response we can deliver.”
