SF breaks ground on new fire hall for Perth Road

Craig Bakay | Aug 02, 2017

Council and various dignitaries gathered at the site of the new fire hall planned for Perth Road Village last Friday to put the first shovels in the ground.

“This is our first new fire hall in three decades,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “We’ve been looking at it for two years since the old hall was condemned for training purposes.”
The new hall, with an estimated price tag of $1.5 million, will join the eight other fire halls in South Frontenac and will likely be the go-to site for firefighter training.
“It’s going to be a great space with a training room for 30 people,” Vandewal said. “Public Works will probably use it too.

“It’s been very frustrating for firefighters because they’ve had to use Sydenham for training programs but this station has the third highest call volume in the Township.”
Vandewal said the price tag wasn’t the best but in the end Council unanimously supported it.

“The old site just didn’t have the space,” he said. “Plus this one, with drive-through bays and being on Perth Road as opposed to an interior street, will have much better access.”
Fire Chief Rick Chesebrough agreed.

“For firefighters, not having to pull into a residential area alone should make response times faster,” Chesebrough said. “This is a tremendous asset for response time, training and safety.
“It will have all the proper equipment such as IT, ventilation and we’re expecting it to have at least a 40-year lifespan.
“We have 18 volunteers here now and we’re hoping to get that up to 25.”