The renovations for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service鈥檚 new home are progressing nicely, and fire Chief Dale Feser is confident fire trucks and other equipment could start moving over soon.
The building, which is located on 13th Avenue in central Estevan, was previously the home of Murray GM鈥檚 Estevan dealership. Murray GM vacated the building last December to move to its new home on Kensington Avenue, and the city purchased the building early this year for $2.3 million.
The fire department鈥檚 current home is on Third Street.
In an interview with the Mercury on Tuesday morning, Feser said firefighters have been able to tackle a lot of the renovation work during work bees on training nights and weekends.
Feser noted the building was previously divided into three areas: the auto body area, the service department, and the offices and showroom.
Walls have been demolished between the auto body department and the service bay to create the area where their trucks and other equipment will be stored.
A new indoor training room will be located in the service bay, where the parts were stored.
Also, a fenced off area has been added to the east end of the property for outdoor training.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to bring up a lot of the equipment that we use in day-to-day training to ensure that the firefighters are properly trained to respond to all kinds of emergencies,鈥� said Feser.
They have also tackled some renovations in the front area. Not only will it be used for the fire department鈥檚 office, but it will have public education materials and historical displays.
鈥淭he guys have been working very hard, and now it鈥檚 time for the contractors to come in,鈥� said Feser.
Contractors pressure-washed the exterior of the building on Monday, and painting is expected to happen this week.
Framing needs to happen in the front office, he said. Electricians need to install the lighting for the indoor training room. Then the firefighters will come in to tackle the drywall, painting and flooring.
There have been some issues that have come up during construction, but Feser said those were largely related to waiting for supplies. They had hoped the overhead doors would arrive earlier, but those doors have now been installed.
The cost of renovation was expected to be around $200,000, and Feser said the alterations to the building are on budget.
Some of their wildland firefighting equipment, including a fire truck, was moved to the new fire hall shortly after the fire department took possession. It was previously stored at the city yard, since there wasn鈥檛 enough room at the current fire hall for the equipment. Public works is now using that space at city yard for its own equipment.
The fire chief noted the fire department had to use that fire truck for a wildland fire earlier this year.
鈥淔rom the new location as compared with the current location, it鈥檚 amazing how much of a quicker response time there is, upwards of two minutes quicker,鈥� said Feser. 鈥淭his location is definitely going to suit the needs of the fire department.鈥�
Fire trucks will either turn onto 13th Avenue or Souris Avenue North when departing the fire hall.
He expects there will be a staggered transition into the new building. Phase 1 of the move from the current fire hall to the building could begin soon. The first phase will involve moving their fire trucks and turnout gear to the new building.
鈥淵ou could quite possibly see the firefighters responding out of that hall prior to the office staff moving over there,鈥� said Feser. 鈥淲e still have the fully functional office, but we have to make sure that everything鈥檚 ready to go for a seamless transition from the old fire hall to the new location.鈥�
Once the apparatus has moved over, Feser is hopeful it would take another month to move the office staff and equipment to the 13th Avenue site.
The firefighters are eager to move into the new location, he said, and they have been working hard to make sure it is ready.聽
