Years of hard work and fundraising are about to pay off, with the construction of the new fire hall for the rural municipality of Moose Mountain and the town of Carlyle.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Fire Chief Don VanMeer said construction is slated to start next week. The company that is to build the new fire hall has been given the green light to proceed, and the lot where it is to be built is being cleared.
The building is located on Eighth Street in Carlyle, next to the water treatment plant, and is a block away from the current fire hall.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he hall that we are presently in is just undersized for our equipment, and we don鈥檛 have a proper meeting room in it, either,鈥� said VanMeer.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The fire department has to juggle which equipment it has stored inside, and which is kept outdoors.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur skidoo trailer and skidoo comes in during the winter so that it鈥檚 ready and our wildland fire equipment gets put outside, for example,鈥� he said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Once the new fire hall is constructed, they will have sufficient space throughout the year for all of their firefighting and rescue apparatus.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淩ight now 鈥� sometimes it鈥檚 only three feet between the units (the fire trucks), so it鈥檚 a real safety issue when units are pulling out on a fire call,鈥� said VanMeer. 鈥淭his is going to help with a lot more space between units.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The fire department would have adequate meeting room and washroom facilities, along with a kitchen if its members respond to a longer call.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen we come in from a call, we鈥檒l have somewhere we can pull something together, and lots of our spouses like to help, so they鈥檒l come down and help to prepare meals for people that are out on long calls,鈥� said VanMeer. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e actively going at night, we鈥檒l have a place to come back in and do that stuff, where we didn鈥檛 have that before.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 VanMeer said construction was supposed to start this week, but with all of the rain, it has been pushed back. It鈥檚 not known how long it will take to finish the building, but he hopes it can be completed late in 2020 or early in 2021.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Carlyle Fire Department has 22 paid, on-call firefighters on its current duty roster, but about 15 of them are active. The firefighters come from Carlyle, Arcola and Manor, along with the RM of Moose Mountain.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The firefighters are 鈥減retty well overwhelmed鈥� knowing that construction is about to begin on a building they have needed for a long time, the fire chief said. The department has spent years fundraising for the new building. People in the community have patiently stood beside the fire department throughout this process, and have shown how much they want to see the town get a new fire station.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his has been a project that has been in the works for about 10 years, and they have continued to donate every year and help build the funds, so that we can make this happen,鈥� he said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 An annual golf tournament has raised aobut $100,000 to help pay for the building.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here has been a lot of meetings over the years. We did try to figure out building onto the old hall, and updating it, and then it was decided to go with a newer and a bigger building. There鈥檚 been lots of meetings. The meetings have gone on for years too, with the fire board, the RM and the town council.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Deputy Fire Chief Rob Klassen said they鈥檙e excited that this project is coming to fruition.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Once the new hall is constructed, VanMeer is hopeful the fire department will be able to attract a few more members as well.
