The Saskatoon Fire Department is starting construction of a new regional training facility.
The new facility will be located one kilometre north of Saskatoon, on Range Road 3053 in Corman Park.
The training grounds are on 40 acres of land and will have an inside and outdoor space for training 365 days a year.
The goal of the training facility is to widen the range of opportunities for Saskatchewan firefighters.
“A regional training facility has been a vision for over three decades and is now being realized through a commitment to partnerships and community safety. Fire services face many challenges such as fast burning modern construction, densification, and the need to maintain the complex skills as an all-hazard response provider,” says Chief Morgan Hackl with the Saskatoon Fire Department.
“This investment will create a controlled training environment for all users where safe technical training remains a priority. We’re very excited to embark on this project with the support of City Council, regional partners, and look forward to the long-term vision that will include private and public partnership.”
The $5 million project is the first of its kind in the province, offering training opportunities for other regional partners.
“I am very excited at how this partnership is coming together to build a new regional fire training facility. By collaborating on this project we will be able to create a better facility than any one of us could create on our own,” says Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark.
“This will mean creating modern, state of the art training facilities that can ensure firefighters and emergency responders in the whole region can be as prepared as possible to respond to the changing world of emergency response.”
Phase one of the project is building the outdoor training grounds and that is set to be done by spring 2023, when they’ll go into phase two and start building the facility. They say the building will be large enough to operate an indoor apparatus, with a training area, classrooms, meeting rooms and administrative areas.
“We see this project, this long-term vision as something that will benefit the surrounding region, the province, and be a benefit for fire services, private sector, and other emergency services,” says Hackl.
The new facility will also be the first in the province to certify firefighter skills, which means future firefighters can get their pre-employment certificate in Saskatchewan.
“It is exciting to see the potential of a regional fire training facility; the synergy between regional partners would maximize the training opportunities and the protection of firefighters and residents in the area,” says Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk.
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