The Town of Comox is planning a few upgrades to the Comox Fire Rescue station, to make sure it continues to meet the community's needs.
Town council recently unanimously approved moving forward with the development of a design and financial plan for the facility, which was originally built in 1977. A release from the town said that the current station "has exceeded its functional lifespan and no longer meets the operational requirements of the department."
Showers, washrooms, offices, the kitchen and meeting spaces are all inadequate for the current number of firefighters and staff.
When our fire station opened in 1978, we had one full-time firefighter and 20 paid-on-call firefighters responding to about 70 calls per year,鈥� said Fire Chief Gord Schreiner. 鈥淭oday, we have eight full-time firefighters and 52 paid-on-call firefighters responding to over 900 incidents annually. We鈥檝e simply outgrown the space.鈥�
The fire station is jointly owned by the Town of Comox and the Comox Fire Protection District. The cost of the upgrade is shared between the two partners鈥攖wo-thirds funded by the Town and one-third by the Fire Protection District (Area B).
There are other challenges as well, besides space limitations. As it stands, there are inadequate training areas, aging electrical systems, a leaking roof, a lack of accessibility and construction that does not meet current standards for disaster resilience.
The approved upgrade will improve on all of this. It has a focus on the office wing, and will transform it from its current 4,200 square feet to a three-story, 10,000-square-foot facility. The improved office and training space will have an expansion from three to eight offices, plus three boardrooms/classrooms that can double as a study area or community Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
The improved firefighter facilities will have an increase from one shower and three washrooms to 10 showers and 12 washrooms. A dedicated decontamination and laundry area will help firefighters clean gear after fires, reducing carcinogen exposure.
Also in the plans are on-site, affordable accommodations. The top floor will feature five hotel-style suites with a shared common area, providing affordable housing for paid-on-call members. This initiative will enhance emergency response times, particularly at night, and support future full-time staffing needs.
Finally, the building's infrastructure will also see improvements. This includes minor improvements to the truck bays, including a new roof and sprinkler system, will improve building safety and longevity.
This is the first step towards looking at how we can upgrade our fire station to improve firefighter safety and support the long-term growth of the community,鈥� said Comox Mayor, Nicole Minions. 鈥淐ouncil looks forward to reviewing the conceptual design when it comes forward.鈥�
