The Town of LaSalle held its grand opening for its second fire hall after crews began running out of the station over the winter.
On Wednesday, the public was invited to tour the new $9 million facility in the town’s west end, aiming to provide better fire coverage in the growing community.
“It’s been really good,” said Mark Seguin, the deputy chief for the LaSalle Fire Service.
“Our first week of operation, we had a fire on this side of town and before the second truck got there from the second station, we already had it out from this station. So, that was kind of ‘proof was in the pudding’ that we’re doing the right things,” he said.
The town points to the hall as part of a three-station model that aims to cover 87 per cent of the town’s urban area to provide emergency response within four minutes — beating the provincial target of 72 per cent urban coverage.
The hall includes modern amenities, like in-floor heating to help dry equipment and trucks faster in the winter months, individual sleeping quarters for privacy and contagion management, and a new alarm system that cuts power to appliances for speedy and worry-free deployment.
“Our team has been wonderful,” said Seguin. “They’ve been good at pivoting, getting used to running a two-station response and adjusting to all the little changes we’ve had to make.”
The first shift at the new hall was on January 19.
Seguin says the town’s master plan will eventually see a third fire hall built, but as of right now, the demand isn’t there just yet.
“Our town’s expanding and having a station on this side of town increases our response times and allows us to get personnel to incidents quicker,” said Seguin.
The town currently has its fire station headquarters on Normandy Street, the second hall on Front Road, and plans to build the third hall in the east part of town on Laurier Parkway.
The grand opening featured a ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the facility, and a chance for kids to dress up like a firefighter and get up close and personal with a fire truck.
The department has 22 full-time professional firefighters on staff, with a further 35 part-time and volunteer firefighters.