Town unveils new fire hall's final design

Innisfail residents got their first look at the finalized design for the town’s new fire hall during an open house last week.

The new facility, which will be built at the site of the current Mary Morton Public Library, will feature a clubroom, expanded office space, male and female change rooms with showers and lockers, a training room, a staffroom, an exercise room, a hose drying tower, and an emergency operations centre. The current fire hall has very limited office space and is too small to house all of the department’s vehicles.

Genivar’s design features vehicle bays that will be built where the library’s parking lot currently sits. Four bays on the building’s north side will exit onto 49th Street, while two bays will exit into the laneway on the south side of the property. A seventh bay, housing the department’s command vehicle, will be located on the west side of the building and exit onto 50th Avenue. Two of the bays will be drive-through bays. Genivar is one of Canada’s largest engineering firms.

If the town ever decides to have full time staff, the building’s design can be modified by converting the exercise room into a sleeping area, Syroid said.

“I’m excited,” Syroid said during the open house at the current hall on June 13. “We’ve given it a lot of thought and we think that this plan is going to serve us well for years to come. We’re really excited.”

A facility optimization plan commissioned by Innisfail Town Council found that selling the Mary Morton building would not have been profitable, given its age.

Darryl Joyce, director of corporate services, said Genivar’s design was practical and would result in a facility that would be an asset to downtown Innisfail.

“It’s taking a building that really, from a marketability standpoint, had very minimal value and we’re investing in that building,” he said. “It’s meeting the town’s long-term needs for growth in our fire hall. It’s supporting the development of downtown Innisfail area.”

Joyce said early indications from Genivar are that the construction process will take between six-to-eight months, once the engineering drawings and tendering process are complete.

“Our priority is to get the apparatus bays in place, because once you get the walls up and the roof up, from there you can do a lot of the interior renovation work anytime of the year,” he said. “It’s critical that if we go ahead that we focus on getting the apparatus bays up as soon as possible before it gets too far into the winter.”

Innisfail Mayor Jim Romane said the move makes sense financially and will be a selling feature for the department.

“It’s a good sound structure. There are lots of years left in it,” he said of the building. “I think it’s a good fit.”

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Innisfail Fire Chief John Syroid said the new location would provide the department with more room to house all the department’s equipment - one of the department’s vehicles is currently stored outdoors.

The new hall will also have a hose drying tower, a proper training room, an emergency operations centre, as well as proper shower and locker room facilities – things the current hall lacks.

Design now goes to engineering.

Syroid said the department hopes to see construction begin as soon as possible.

Four come out the hall onto 49th Street, with two out the back alley and onto 50th Avenue. Two drive-through bays. and a bay for the command unit.

The reason there are only two at the back is because of the grade of the alley, Syroid said.

DARRYL JOYCE

Said the new facility will be a great asset to downtown Innisfail.

Plans are practical, while not being overly elaborate.

“I think it’s going to be a very nice asset to the downtown area.”

JIM ROMANE

Excellent central location.

Ultimately will create more space.

“This made more sense, that we retrofit the area for our own purposes.”