by Ed Johnson, Citizen Journalist

Peninsula residents have recently had the unique opportunity of watching two neighbouring municipalities both increase their fire protection, in very different ways.

The Saanich Peninsula will soon be home to two new fire halls once the Central Saanich Main Fire Hall reaches completion and opens its doors in September.

North Saanich just completed their renovation and celebrated with a grand opening last June, to a crowd of over 200 people.

With a 2,000 square foot addition to their main station on Wain Rd, the North Saanich Fire Department now has two new bays for their pumper truck, rescue truck and service vehicle. The original three bays were converted into offices, dispatch rooms and a boardroom.

A looming tower above the station serves as a training aid for lowering firefighters into tight locations and also provides an ideal place to dry hoses. “These hoses can run up to 800 dollars per roll, so we take real good care of them to avoid abrasion and mold,” says North Saanich Fire Chief Gary Wilton.

In addition to the main fire hall, North Saanich also has two pumpers located at a satellite station on McTavish Road, bringing the total square footage to just over 11,000 square feet for both facilities.

“Our average time to arrive at the scene of a fire after the first call is eight minutes. It takes just three minutes for our volunteers to arrive at the station,” says Chief Wilton.

North Saanich financed their 1.68 Million dollar upgrade by way of referendum, with a voter approval rating of 73%.

Central Saanich on the other hand, chose a different approach when implementing their new fire hall.

At over 23,000 square feet, the new Central Saanich Main Fire Hall is the largest municipal fire hall in the Capital Regional District. Victoria has the second largest fire hall at 22,992 square feet and Saanich is third at 21,100 square feet.

With four double length bays, a training facility, a hose tower, a twenty seat boardroom and a playground – the new main fire hall on Keating X Road will serve the community’s needs for many years, says Central Saanich Fire Chief Ron French.

Central Saanich is one of two municipalities, Sidney being the other, that have a ladder truck capable of a 75 foot extension. Unique to Central Saanich is a water/foam vehicle used for rural areas without nearby hydrants.

In planning for over six years, “the total cost including land purchase is 8.9 Million” says Chief French.

However, when factoring in the borrowing costs over the 23 year period, the cost rises to over 13 million dollars, according to figures released by the District of Central Saanich.

Instead of a referendum, funding for this fire hall was obtained using the “Alternative Approval Process”, whereby borrowing is automatically approved, if less than 10% of Central Saanich voters sign a petition requiring a community wide referendum.

This District hopes to offset some costs with the sale of a Verling Avenue property and a Green Municipal Fund Grant. Both would total 3.5 million dollars if successful.

The CRD Hazmat team is stationed at the new hall and training sessions have already been scheduled for the Coast Guard and FortisBC. In November, a large gathering of the Vancouver Island Volunteer Fire Fighters’ Association will also take place. “Instead of sending our guys elsewhere for this training, we will be saving money and travel time using our facility instead” says Chief French.

He also suggests there is a possibility that home fire insurance rates may decrease when Fire Underwriters review the new building sometime next year, as it relates to improved response times.

The existing Central Saanich fire hall on Mt. Newton X Rd. will continue to serve as a satellite station and will also require renovation. The cost of upgrading the satellite station is included in the proposed 12 million dollar Town Hall project, which is still undetermined.

The satellite station, combined with the new main fire hall, will provide Central Saanich with approximately 30,000 square feet of fire hall infrastructure – nearly triple that of North Saanich.

With Mutual Aid Agreements in place, Sidney, Central Saanich and North Saanich fire departments have agreed to assist one another when necessary; resulting in five fire halls serving the peninsula.

So as the dust finally settles, and the construction pauses for the time being, each fire hall may serve as a lasting reminder of how two neighbouring communities can be so similar, yet so different – each one personified through bricks and mortar.