EMS breaks ground on new facility

Thunder Bay's Emergency Medical Services broke ground Friday on its $11 million dollar building.

Construction on the new EMS facility located on Junot Street will be used not only as a headquarters but also a training facility and will house crews responding to calls, which will allow for quicker response times officials say.

EMS chief Norm Gale said the ceremony is monumental for the city and paramedics after waiting 20 years to finally have a new home.

Coun. Brian McKinnon fought to have the building located on Junot Street and says now that construction is underway, the building will bring new life to the surrounding area.

The building is expected to be finished in December and operating early in 2012. Gale said the building is environmentally friendly, being part of the clean green and beautiful campaign.

The facility is a headquarters, a training facility and a dispatch centre for crews. Gale said the North end of the city has a two minute longer wait time than the south end, which the new facility should help to alleviate.

Thunder Bay EMS receives up to 20,000 calls per year. The new building will respond to roughly half those calls once up and running Gale said.