Squamish to begin work on net-zero fire hall

SQUAMISH, B.C. — Work will soon begin on a new net-zero fire hall for Squamish.

The district will begin construction of a new Tantalus Fire Hall at its existing site following the completion of the Valleycliffe Fire Hall, which is anticipated for July.

While construction is underway, a temporary fire hall will be installed. The original Tantalus Fire Hall was built in 1978 and lacks seismic, environmental and general structural integrity.

“Council set an ambitious goal in 2018 of progressing to shovel-ready or beyond on three district facilities by 2022 to address end-of-life facilities that deliver critical operational and life safety services, and we are very pleased to see this project moving forward,” said Mayor Karen Elliott in a statement. “There have been many firefighting advancements in the past 40 years and this new fire hall will allow us to meet functional requirements for things like decontamination, accessibility and equitable, gender-neutral facilities to create an environment for our firefighters to better serve our community for decades to come.”

Plans for the new fire hall stemmed from an architectural and engineering review in 2018 which identified that, even with renovations, the Tantalus Fire Hall was no longer able to meet the needs of the district. The review recommended the construction of a larger and more efficiently designed facility, which has now been constructed in Valleycliffe above the floodplain and closer to the more densified downtown Squamish.

Once built, the new Tantalus Fire Hall will serve as the secondary of the two fire halls with three apparatus bays and quarters for one full suppression crew. The new Valleycliffe Fire Hall will become the Squamish Fire Rescue headquarters, housing the fire department administration and the Emergency Operations Centre.

The city is aiming for the facility to have net-zero energy consumption while achieving specific energy targets set by the district.

The Tantalus Fire Hall will be able to accommodate up to 46 firefighters with the future potential to accommodate an additional four storeys above it.

The project cost of the new fire hall is $15.8 million. Currently, a grant application is underway for funding under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund project loan and grant initiative that funds capital projects targeting net-zero energy performance in a new municipal facility.