It was difficult not to notice something symbolic about watching the trucks at the village of Conquest’s fire hall be moved from its longstanding spots inside the older portion of the building into its new digs.
On Friday morning, October 2, Doug Lemon and Blair Sinclair of the department hopped in the crew’s vehicles and backed them into the recently-completed new extension of the fire hall, which has added much-needed additional space to the building, which was built back in 1978.
At the time that the fire hall was built, the department had two small trucks and a low amount of equipment. Today, there are three trucks and three times the equipment, so space in the hall had become very limited. This further highlighted the need for an extension to the building, so the work began earlier this year with an estimated cost for materials at roughly $40,000, with the volunteer firefighters providing the labour. Fundraising, donations, raffles and events such as last New Year’s Eve’s supper and social night held at the Conquest rink helped ensure that the costs of the project were covered.
As Lemon and Sinclair backed the fire fleet into the new half of the hall, it helped signify a new chapter in the long history of Conquest’s fire crew. In the immediate future, the plan is to put up siding on the older half of the building so it matches the new extension, and down the line, the fire department is also looking forward to hosting an open house type of event to show off the new surroundings to the public.
