Firefighters in the village of Millville, N.B. moved into their newly commissioned fire station Saturday, more than two years after their original station was destroy by arson.
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Since the fire on July 28, 2014, the firefighters have been working out of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) building, and responded to 89 calls, North York Regional Fire Chief Justin McGuigan said.
“That’s 859 days ago. I counted, every day,” McGuigan said.
He explained that running the fire department has been “complicated” because the firefighters had to base part of their operation outdoors and store equipment in multiple locations — the DTI building, a trailer and a shipping container. Some vehicles were even stored at McGuigan’s home.
“Words can’t express how happy we are this morning to be able to be back here, in our own station again,” McGuigan said.
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Millville Mayor Bev Forbes said the crew did a “tremendous job” working with the space they’ve temporarily had.
“They’ve all worked together and it’s nice to see that the community that works together stays together,” Forbes said.
After the fire, the Millville Fire Department merged with the Keswick Valley Fire Department to form the North York Regional Fire Department.
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Members of the community and firefighters celebrated the homecoming by embracing the 1830s tradition of pushing their new fire engine into the new station.
“This is not the opening of the Millville fire station as a whole. We are commissioning the operation of this station,” McGuigan said.
The grand opening for the station and municipal building will take place at a later date.
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