District of North Vancouver citizens are getting a shiny new fire hall.
The new fire hall will be located at the site of an overgrown former landfill off of Dollarton Highway.
The construction project will be go to tender this summer and construction is expected to start in early 2020.
The fire centre is expected to be ready in fall of 2021.
Spread over four acres and 39,000 square feet, the Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre will be particularly reassuring for Seymour residents.
The older fire halls were based on an outdated fire service response model which left the area east of the Seymour River under served.
Besides providing proper coverage to Seymour, it will provide much needed support to Deep Cove fire hall in the event of a major emergency.
The new fire hall will replace a fire hall in Lynn Creek and Fire Training Centre on St. Dennis Avenue. It will have four double apparatus fire truck bays, live and work quarters and support space for seven to 15 fire fighters
The new fire hall will also be the department headquarters, and will include offices and work spaces for 19 full time and part time administrative staff. An indoor as well as an outdoor training facility will be part of the new fire hall.
The new Maplewood Fire Hall is by no means an indulgence.
According to an update report provided to DNV council recently by the fire chief, the existing fire hall and training centres are 40 years old, outdated and in poor condition, and in need of replacement.
The old buildings are also far from being environmentally sustainable, using twice as much energy and emit far more Greenhouse Gas Emissions than what would be the standard today
Having the site on its current location will also reduce impact to environmentally sensitive riparian and wetland areas on the southern portion of the site, as well as reduce site footprint due to its topography
It also makes practical sense: Citizens can expect better response time as the new fire hall will create a better east-west connection.
Nine different sites were looked at and council approved the new fire hall plans in 2015. The current budget for the Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre is approximately $34 million.
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