THUNDER BAY – Within the next three years the district’s forest fire and emergency services headquarters will be given a substantial overhaul.
The province announced on Thursday funding of $25 million to renovate the provincial logistics centre and Thunder Bay fire management headquarters at 1580 Arthur Street West, as well as the construction of a new aviation building.
The contract for the project, which is expected to begin construction this fall, has been awarded to Finn Way General Contractors.
David Cleaveley, the Northwest region response and operations manager for the MNRF’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services, said the project will make the building more accessible and environmentally friendly, as well as more functional.
“It makes it a whole bunch more efficient in terms of operational design, how things flow through the building and how things are done properly,” he said.
With the renovation, the main administration and warehouse building will target silver certification from the Canada Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The construction is expected to be completed with the building in full use in early 2018.
In the meantime, various departments will be shuffled from the main administration building to a portable building set up on the property as the construction schedule goes forward.
“Over the next two-and-a-half to three years if everything goes smooth we’ll still be able to operate a very efficient fire centre,” Cleaveley said.
Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Bill Mauro said the latest announcement is the next step in a $96 million commitment to support infrastructure in Northern Ontario, following significant upgrades to the Armstrong, Sioux Lookout and Sudbury bases.
“Ultimately it’s about allowing our folks on the ground who have to prepare for forest fire fighting seasons to be best positioned as they can be so they can work as efficiently as possible so they can meet their core mandate, which is forest fire fighting within our district,” Mauro said.
