The Garden Bay fire hall renovation “actually came in under budget and on time, which is amazing," according to Pender Harbour Fire Protection District board chair Bob Fielding. On Nov. 8, Fielding, along with fire chief Jim Cameron and member assigned to the Garden Bay hall John Lucas, provided Coast Reporter a sneak peak as the project rallied to the finish line.
Community members will have a chance to see the hall (13303 Deller Road) updates at an open house on Saturday Nov. 23 from 1 to 3 p.m.
The why, how and how much of the upgrade
Fielding outlined the project, which involved lifting an existing hall structure to build new ground floor vehicle bays and fire operations areas, cost just under a million dollars. Most of those costs were secured through a loan authorized by the service area taxpayers through an alternative approval process. The money to conduct that process and start project planning came from district reserves. “We had reserves when we started and we still have reserves,” Cameron noted.
The trio explained that the original hall, which sits on land owned by the district, was built in 1975, and was added onto six or seven years later. About three years ago, cracks, some as wide as seven inches, began appearing in the structure’s walls and along floors as the ground beneath it continued to settle.
”What really brought it to light was when they held a board meeting here. Someone put a billiard ball on the floor and it took off. That sealed the deal," Cameron stated. He added that the upgrade project included seismic-rated structure reinforcements to help ensure the hall can remain in service should an earthquake impact the area.
The renovation allowed for expansion of the first-floor truck bay areas with higher ceilings and space for a recently acquired utility/quick response vehicle, a 2008 pickup that the department secured from the City of Nelson for $15,000. That truck is seeing increased demand as the Garden Bay unit of the department does “a lot of medical response calls and are often on scene before the ambulance,” said Lucas noting that BC Emergency Health Services houses its area vehicles in Madeira Park, a 14-minute drive away. Lucas noted that total calls for the Pender Harbour Fire Department were over 200 in 2023 (up from 141 in 2022) and that this year, between Nov. 3 and 7 (which included the Nov. 4 windstorm), they had been out every day.
Added during the renovation was a backup generator for the site, so that power to the bay doors, for operational lighting and an air compressor to keep truck brake systems charged is uninterrupted. Another addition was a heat pump to improve the efficiency and reduce costs of building heating and cooling.
Also on the new ground floor are separate gear and wash-up areas. The gear room features upgraded wire grid turn out gear lockers for each of the hall’s 15 members. The new design allows for better air circulation around the equipment and with a heat pump air handling unit in the space, the gear, which costs about $6,000 per member, will dry and air out quicker.
Fielding pointed out that all but one of the contractors on the project were local companies. Lucas noted that the department also received “really good cooperation from Garden Bay Marine Services where we are temporarily housing our trucks and our turnout gear. They happened to have a really large bay that would hold everything.” On behalf of his fellow active firefighters, he added “It will be very nice to get out of the cold” and back into the freshly renovated hall.
The second floor, “is basically the original with a coat of paint and the structural upgrade” according to Cameron. What has been added is a deck, (over the area of the bay addition) with a beautiful water view, perfect for fire department social events.
A long-term benefit
Lucas, who joined the department more recently than Fielding (with 45 to 50 years of service) and Cameron (who joined in January 1988) remarked “the fire department is the best in-road to meeting people and learning about the community."
“I’m very grateful to our board for supporting this project, not just saying let’s just patch it together to get through five years or 10 years, but to actually move forward to build something that is going to serve for lots of years and we can be proud of," said Cameron.
On behalf of the board, Fielding expressed thanks to the community for its support of the project, saying that “this hall will be good for another 75 years."
Editor's note: This story is updated daily with current weather forecasts and conditions.
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