EDMONTON – Following a public hearing at City Hall, an old fire station in the Rossdale neighbourhood is one step closer to being recommissioned after a council committee voted in favour of the proposal. It’s an issue that has been a hot topic in the community for the past year; and while the decision still has to be debated by all of city council, area residents remain divided.
Edmonton’s Fire Rescue Services hope the old station, which hasn’t been used since the late 90s, can become a permanent home for river rescue operations in the city – as currently, there is about a 10 to 15 minute response time. The fire department also hopes the location could serve as a backup for downtown fire stations, which are getting quite busy.
But those against the proposal feel not enough information has come forward, and that the need has not been demonstrated for the facility to be recommissioned.
There are also questions about the location and the fact that the location of the fire station is on a flood plain.
Last year crews responded to 63 river rescues, with the average being about 40 per year. Rossdale resident, Shane Pospisil, says that crews at the proposed river rescue station will likely respond to far more calls not on the river.
“This is a grounds-based facility with no business case analysis done around the economic merits, and also the logistical merits of citing a ground-based facility at Rossdale,” he argues.
Darcey-Lynn Marc believes it’s a privilege for a community to have a fire station, though, and feels this is a cost-effective option. According to Fire Rescue Services, setting up this old station will cost $3.75 million. A new station with the same proposed facilities, on the other hand, would cost closer to $13 million.
Mayor Stephen Mandel is also among the supporters. “We hear this constantly,” he says, “that we don’t have stations close enough to people, and they need to be put in a place where they can do good. I think this is a great move and I applaud it.”
“At the end of the day,” added Chief Ken Block, “this truly is about improving the level of public safety for all Edmontonians on the river.”
There is still no funding proposed for the project, so even if this council approves it, it will be up to the next council’s priorities to see if this project would get funded in next year’s capital budget.
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News
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