Though the new Innisfail fire hall has been operational for a little while, the grand opening will be Oct. 13.
The event will feature a barbecue and demonstrations of high-angle rescue and vehicle extrication demonstrations.
Dennis Fehr, the deputy fire chief, said the firefighters will show off the high-angle rescue by rappelling off the building.
The ribbon cutting starts at 1 p.m. and there will be displays and kids' activities as well. The open house runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
One of the advantages of the new building, which has taken over the old library spot, is that it can store all of the department's equipment in one place, Fehr said.
The fire department's equipment is more than just a fire truck – there's multiple trucks, some for rural use and some for the town, small rapid response units, a Zodiac, the technical rescue unit and even the new quad that was purchased by the Innisfail Fire and Rescue Society.
Much of the equipment, such as the Zodiac and the quad, has been purchased by the fire and rescue society.
“We work casinos, sell calendars,” Fehr said.
The new building contains office space, a large room that's destined to be the town's emergency operation centre in the case of a disaster or other emergency, and more.
It even has an old-fashioned fire pole, which Fehr said brings “a little bit of history” to the building.
There's a large recreation room with an air hockey table, couches, a projection video system and other accessories. Fehr said the Innisfail Fire Brigade raises the money for the fun stuff through donations from each firefighter.
“It's not the town's responsibility or the taxpayers' responsibility to pay for this kind of stuff,” he said. He also said they don't fundraise for it outside of the department either.
Those who've looked at the building since it's been redone might have noticed it's a little bit higher than the library was.
Fehr said they added extra height onto the structure to allow for enough space to hang hoses up to dry. This also allowed them to be able to practise high-angle rescues by rappelling from the roof down.
The tender was awarded by town council over a year ago. The former fire hall was attached to the town office. The new space was needed so the department could have more room for their equipment and to have full offices, changes rooms and so on.
