three rivers approves emergency repairs for georgetown fire hall
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a fire truck sits outside the georgetown fire and rescue station. the town of three rivers has approved emergency repairs to the fire hall after concerns were raised about the building’s front doors and part of the front wall.
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the town of three rivers has approved emergency repairs at the georgetown fire and rescue station after concerns were raised about the building’s front doors and part of the front wall.
council approved the work during a special meeting after its committee meeting on monday.
the town’s cao, john jamieson, said the fire hall’s front doors need to be replaced because newer fire trucks are larger than when the doors were installed. he said the trucks have only about an inch of space on either side when entering or leaving the building.
while looking at replacing the doors, a contractor and structural engineer also raised concerns about the header above the doors.
jamieson said the town wants an engineer to inspect the building to determine whether repairs are needed before the doors are replaced.
“if it doesn’t need anything major, then they can just replace the doors,” he said. “but if it does need some work above the doors, then we’ll get that done.”
fire chief roy wood told the guardian that the issue is also linked to part of the front wall, which has deteriorated over time because of water.
bigger fire trucks
he also said the doors are 10-feet wide, and the fire station has a fire truck that’s almost 10-feet wide, which means there’s not a lot of room to allow the truck to go in and out of the overhead door.
“so it’s become a concern that at some point, with a snow load, the wall could be compromised,” wood said.
he said the department wants to fix the problem before winter arrives.
“we’re just trying to be proactive and fix that problem, and we’ll replace the doors at the same time, because fire trucks are not getting smaller, they’re getting bigger,” he said.
wood said the concern only developed after the department recently replaced one of its fire trucks with a larger vehicle.
jamieson said the project was brought to council as an emergency repair after the fire chief was advised the building should be inspected as soon as possible.
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costs
he said the town also wants to move quickly so it can apply for funding through the canada community-building fund, which can be used for fire hall projects.
the work is expected to cost between $60,000 and $100,000 and will be paid for through the federal funding program.
wood said the repairs are not expected to affect emergency services.
“we’ll make arrangements with the contractor that it won’t be an issue,” he said.
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vivian ulinwa is a reporter for the guardian in prince edward island. she can be reached at vulinwa@postmedia.com and followed on x @vivian_ulinwa.
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