Windsor’s mayor introduced the city’s newest fire hall and Emergency Operations Centre on Thursday.
Mayor Drew Dilkens and Fire Chief Stephen Laforet cut the ceremonial ribbon on the new $5.2-million centre and fire hall No. 6 at 1587 Provincial Rd.
“Windsor has always been able to rise and respond to any emergency,” said Dilkens. “But with this facility and these tools in this location, our emergency responses will be even stronger.”
Construction on the combined facility began in July 2016 and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. The original budget was estimated at between $6-million and $6.5-million.
The fire hall portion opened in August of this year and the EOC officially opened Thursday.
Designed by Archon Architects and constructed by Loaring Construction, the 13,800-square-foot building is designed to be an energy-efficient, “post disaster” structure that can be relied upon to function in the face of a variety of emergency events.
Facility highlights include:
-There is 3,000 square feet of dedicated space for the EOC
-Two truck bays and living quarters for up to eight firefighters and two captains for the fire hall side, providing Windsor Fire with the ability to grow as the area grows.
-Protection from lightning and seismic activity
-Accessible, barrier-free design
-LED lighting and diesel backup generator
-Storm water retention basin and site storage equipped to handle “100-year” rain events.
-25,000-plus man hours devoted to construction, the vast majority local
EOC activation comes in a variety of situations, from localized events like industrial fires to events that cross the community like floods.
“When that happens, experts from city departments; emergency response agencies like Fire, Police, EMS; and a variety of partners -- all providing value information and assistance -- gather together and begin planning our response,” said Laforet.
