Replacing Fire Hall No. 5 — City of Vancouver
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PlaceSpeak is hosting a new online survey for residents in Vancouver;s Killarney neighbourhood. Here are the details:
Replacing Fire Hall No. 5
City of Vancouver Fire Hall No. 5, located at East 54th Avenue and Kerr Street, is scheduled to be replaced with a new, more efficient structure built to LEED™ gold standards of sustainability. The process of replacement will take over a year and in the meantime a temporary fire hall must be built for the firefighters and their equipment. You can find out more about the fire hall replacement project on the vancouver.ca website.
The current fire hall in this location is no longer suitable because:
- The building does not meet current seismic codes. In the event of a major earthquake, this key rescue and emergency operations centre could be severely damaged and non-functional.
- The driveway is too short: trucks today are longer and this has meant that pedestrians are diverted onto 54th Avenue (with safety cones) when the truck is parked outside because equipment checks are performed outside daily.
- A third equipment bay is needed for an additional fire truck that will be required as the East Fraser Lands are developed. This will also require additional crew members and dorm space for them.
- Additional space is needed for training and fitness; there is no dedicated space for training in the existing building.
Three locations on parkland at Kerr Street and Rosemont Boulevard are being considered for the temporary fire hall – two at the northeast corner and one at the southwest corner. it will operate at this location for approximately one year starting in 2013. The selected site will be unavailable for other uses for about 15 to 16 months overall to accommodate the installation and removal of the temporary fire hall and restore the parkland.
Fire Hall No. 5 has served the Champlain Heights and East Fraser Lands communities since 1952. In addition to putting out fires, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services deal with fire prevention, accident response, medical emergencies, hazardous materials exposures, and specialized rescue services. The fire hall responds to 4.4 calls a day on average.
About the New Fire Hall
Plans include a new training room, which, along with providing space for staff training, will also provide support to the community, through CPR and first aid courses, blood pressure clinics, and training for volunteer groups that could be called upon in emergencies.
A temporary fire hall will be opened around Rosemont and Kerr in the central part of Fire District 5, so that service can continue during the construction period.
Online Survey
Killarney residents living neat the fire hall are invited to include your voice in the consultation and let the City of Vancouver know where you think the temporary fire hall should go, by filling in our online survey.
