Fire Hall No. 2 (Tantalus Road)

The District’s Fire Hall No. 2 (Tantalus Road) is under construction. Fire Hall No. 2 is one of three critical facilities prioritized for immediate (0-3) replacement in the 2019 Real Estate and Facilities Master Plan (REFMP). The new Fire Hall No. 2 will serve as the second of the two fire halls for the Squamish Fire Rescue Service.

Progress

Timeline Completion Q2 2024  

Current works (Q4 2023 update)

  • Roof completion
  • Exterior insulation
  • Window installed
  • Interior rough-in (services and HVAC)
  • Drywall
  • Roof membrane (first coat complete, second and final coat in works)
Budget $15.8 M
Next Steps Overhead doors installation, start siding, continue rear landscape works, continue front
landscape works, install interior doors, order fittings/furniture/equipment
Hurdles Additional and ongoing geotechnical works due to unforeseen soil instability, delays in
fabrication and supply of some materials still evident after COVID-19.
Other The District has adopted the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) system to manage overall construction.

Tantalus Fire Hall #2 - Temporary Structure

Status On time, on budget
Timeline Complete
Current works Operational
Budget part of the $15.8m for Tantalus Fire Hall
Next Steps Nil
Hurdles Nil
Other  Nil

 

Background

An architect's review in 2018 identified that, even with renovations, Fire Hall No. 2 could not meet the needs of the District now and into the future and recommended that a larger and more efficiently-designed facility be built. The administration offices were moved to Fire Hall No. 1 - Alex Munro (Clarke Drive). 

The replacement Fire Hall No. 2 will serve as the second of the two fire halls for the Squamish Fire Rescue Service. The new post-disaster Fire Hall No. 2 building will consist of three apparatus bays with administration office areas, four dorm rooms, washrooms, a training room, kitchen, and decontamination rooms for post-incident cleanup. Fire Hall No. 2 will operate as a paid-on-call fire hall but has the capacity to staff full-time crews at some point in the future. The new Fire Hall No. 2 sustainability objective is to achieve net zero energy consumption while achieving specific energy targets required by the District of Squamish through envelope optimization, photovoltaic roof panels, highly efficient appliances, LED lighting and lighting control strategies, a high-performance mechanical system using energy recovery strategies and an air-source heat pump. Furthermore, the building is designed to accommodate future housing needs above if required.

Funding Fire Hall No.2

The cost of the project is estimated at $15.8-million. The District has secured funding for the cost of this project through borrowing and reserves. A grant application is underway for funding under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund (GMF) project loan and grant initiative that funds capital projects targeting net zero energy performance in a new municipal facility. If approved, this will help to cover offset some of the cost of the project. $5,202,020 of this project is proposed to be financed by debt to spread the cost of the project out over time, ensuring that future taxpayers also support the upgrade. The annual taxpayer impact represents approximately $1.94 per $100,000 of assessed residential property value.

Read the full analysis


Progress Photos

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Comments

  • Communications Oct 4, 2023, 5:12 PM (6 months ago)

    Thank you for submitting your comment in response to this project, and for your patience in awaiting this response.

    The District of Squamish is required to follow the legislated process for incurring debt. The project costs and financing have been approved, through bylaw, in the District’s five-year financial plan. In order for the debt to be issued, the District must go through an electoral process, which in this case is the Alternative Approval process (AAP). Should the AAP process be unsuccessful the District will need to fund the project from another source, which in this case will likely be property taxation.

    For clarity, with regards to Fire Hall 2, there is no redesign nor redesign fees associated with this project, and no changes have been made to the design nor project since the project adoption/start.

    The Squamish Chief article has been updated to that effect.

    I hope this helps to answer your question, and should you have any further questions, please let us know.

  • Rae Simpson Sep 30, 2023, 6:01 AM (6 months ago)

    The Fire Hall has been under construction for some time which I would assume means that the financing was in place before the project started. I cannot find anything in the project description dealing wit additional work although the Squamish Chief reported that it is for 'a complete redesign of the building with administration office areas, dorm rooms, a training room, kitchen and decontamination rooms for post-incident cleanup among other things'. If the new fire hall needs a $5 million dollar redesign while it is still under construction, that indicates something seriously wrong with the initial planning, something for which somebody or some organization should be held accountable and further explanation provided to the Squamish ratepayers.

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