A new three-bay, 585-square-metre fire station on the city’s west side will improve response times and give Welland Fire and Emergency Services firefighters room to move, says Chief Adam Eckhart.
The station, to be built at 924 Prince Charles Dr., will replace Station 3 about a kilometre south, constructed in 1955 and last updated in 1997.
Eckhart said the planned build is modelled on the new Station 2, under construction behind headquarters at 636 King St.
The headquarters, formerly Crowland town hall, will be demolished and moved to the new Station 1, also under construction, at 400 East Main St.
“There will be an improvement in public safety and good service delivery from our third fire station,” said the chief, adding it reduces the number of stations to three from five.
The two volunteer stations, one on Rose Avenue and the second on Schisler Road, will be merged into the new headquarters.
Eckhart said the new Station 3 location is a good split between the existing station and the volunteer fire hall on Rose Avenue.
“It will be a modern facility.”
The chief said the current Station 3 needed $1 million worth of work in 2016, and new deficiencies have been found since then, increasing the cost of repairs significantly.
“It’s significantly undersized. You can’t walk around the truck and (fire) boat. There are no laundry facilities to meet hygiene requirements for personal protective equipment (bunker gear).”
When responding to an on-water emergency, firefighters have to hitch the fire boat, inside the hall, to a pickup truck stored outside.
That will change when the three-bay, drive-thru facility is open. The fire boat and truck will be stored inside one of the bays, allowing a faster response time.
Though patterned on the new Station 2, Eckhart said the new Station 3 will be designed to fit on the 0.15-hectare property.
“The quarters for firefighters will be narrower and longer, but the square footage will be the same. We don’t have to rework the whole building.”
Specialized equipment, such as the foam trailer stored at Station 5, will be moved to the new station.
During a July meeting, city councillors questioned how the new station would fit in near one of the busier intersections in Welland — Thorold Road-Prince Charles Drive/Rice Road.
Eckhart said the current station has yellow warning lights nearby to let drivers know fire vehicles are responding. Those warning lights will be modernized and positioned to warn drivers by the new station.
Traffic lights at the intersection can be cycled to allow fire trucks to pass through safely without any delay or interruption and appear normal to other drivers on the road.
Three homes on Thorold Road and the Father Patrick H. Fogarty Adult and Continuing Education Centre back on to the new station. Eckhart said a sound barrier will be installed.
“There shouldn’t be a lot of noise,” he said, adding firefighters can carry out testing and training on the front pad of the new station, blending any noise in with existing traffic on Prince Charles Drive.
