The North Neebing Community Centre could be acting as a temporary fire hall for at least a year.
City council approved the contract to build two new fire halls, one in Neebing and the other in Westfort, as well as an addition to the James Street fire hall last month. The contract awarded to PerHol Construction Ltd. came in around $7.4 million.
The new fire hall is to replace the Neebing fire station on 20th Side Road. The fire station was closed after mould was found in 2010. Although the station has since been reopened after the mould was cleared out, firefighters have been primarily occupying a trailer that’s been attached to the back.
While waiting for the new station, the Neebing firefighters will be staying in the nearby community centre on Rosslyn Road.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Hankkio said they haven’t met with the contractors yet to discuss when demolition will begin. He said he hopes to have some more firm dates by the end of the week.
He also suspects that they will be moved into the community centre within a few weeks.
Although temporary, he said they’re goal is to be back in the new station by the spring of 2014.
“There’s a lot of processes and policy that you have to go through to building up and we’re going to follow all of those,” he said Monday.
“There may be a time where the (pumper) has to stay outside just with a fence around it while the construction of the temporary structure is built. We’re hoping the move will be pretty seamless. They’ve been in the trailer at the back of this station since 2010 and quite frankly, they’ve been fantastic about it. They’re goal and the fire department’s goal is to maintain service in the area. They recognize that it’s been a challenging time for them.”
With winter still a few months away, Hankkio said they plan to build a garage to store the pumper and also install insulation but for the most part the community centre meets all their needs including a functioning kitchen.
In terms of communication, Hankkio added that they will use portable radios if they have to until a they’re completely setup.
