Hamilton police say about 40 officers will work out of a new $28-million police and fire station expected to open in 2026
Hamilton police say about 40 officers — rather than a reported 80 — will work out of a new $28-million police and fire station in Waterdown that is expected to open in 2026, but they’ve yet to determine how big of an area they will patrol.
Police spokesperson Jackie Penman said the new Station 40, to be built near the southeast corner of Highway 6 and Parkside Drive, will include a collision reporting centre and cover other parts of Flamborough.
But she said it’s too early to say if officers will also patrol Dundas. Both areas are currently served by the Mountain station on Rymal Road East.
“They have to realign the beats once the station is open and figure out between the Mountain and this new station what makes the most sense,” Penman said. “We’ll be ensuring that we have a deployment model that works best for the community.”
The $28-million budget for the joint station is up from the estimated $17.5 million in a report to the August 2020 Hamilton police services board meeting that pegged the police side at $8 million for 9,275 square feet.
Robyn Ellis, the city’s manager of strategic planning, said the size of the fire and police components “have remained similar,” but the 25,500-square-foot station also includes shared areas, including a mechanical and electrical penthouse.
She said construction costs are now about $18.7 million and the higher bill reflects the land purchase, soft costs, internal fees and taxes.
Chief Frank Bergen hailed the new Station 40 as a “significant milestone” in the police commitment to Waterdown and Flamborough.
“We look forward to working closely with Hamilton fire to best meet the needs of a growing community,” he said in a written statement.
Flamborough councillor Ted McMeekin said the new police station is a big improvement for his ward — even if it will have fewer than 80 officers relayed to him by police when he hosted a community policing town hall last fall.
“People will begin to see police offers wherever they go,” he said. “That’s got to be good.”
Chief Dave Cunliffe of the fire department said his side of the station will have 40 full-time firefighters, enough to have eight on hand around the clock.
The current Station 24, further east on Parkside Drive, has 25 full-timers providing weekday coverage from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 32 volunteers who respond 24/7 and “in conjunction with the full-time staff based on alarm type and requirement for resources,” he said.
Cunliffe said the 25 full-timers will move to the new station when it opens and the department is in the process of increasing the volunteer complement at Station 24 to 40.
He said paramedics will remain at Station 24, adding that the two stations will “well serve both the current and future growth areas” of Waterdown and surrounding areas.
The need for the new Waterdown fire station was identified in a 10-year service delivery plan approved by city council in June 2019. Back then, Station 24 only had five full-timers and response times were nearly eight minutes longer than at stations with full-timers around the clock.
Cunliffe said the current 25 full-timers there have improved response times by five minutes despite a steady rise in demand, with last year’s 625 calls up by 34 per cent from 2022.
He said the responses included eight structural fires, up by 60 per cent from 2022, as well as 429 other fire and rescue calls — including vehicle accidents and fires, alarm and assistant calls, gas leaks, grass and rubbish fires — and 196 medical calls.
McMeekin said the new fire station is badly needed because the area by Clappison’s Corners will add 5,000 homes in the next six years along with 3,000 jobs from business growth in the industrial park.
“You’re going to have population growth that’s through the roof,” he said.
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