Elko’s fire hall will be expanded thanks to a decision from the Regional District of East Kootenay’s Board of Directors.
RDEK officials said the current fire hall is lacking some important features.
“The existing Elko Firehall does not adequately meet the operational needs of the department,” said RDEK officials. “The firehall is without running water and washroom or shower facilities for firefighters to use, and currently does not have enough truck bay space to store all apparatus.”
The expansion comes with a price tag of $300,000 and will bring the facilities up to standard.
“We want to add washroom facilities into there, a clean-up station for when firefighters come in from an incident,” said Area B Director Stan Doehle. “We have a truck stored in Baynes Lake that needs to go back to Elko.”
According to the RDEK, the expansion would add 1,300 square feet to the existing building.
Some construction costs were cut from the project thanks to Canfor donating lumber.
“That’s a big corporate donation, so a big ‘thank you’ goes out to them,” said Doehle.
Some geotechnical work and infrastructure estimates still need to be done before construction can begin.
Doehle said he’s happy to see the expansion get funding from the RDEK.
“It’ll be a great addition once it’s up and running,” said Doehle. “It’s going to be a good place for the volunteers to use because they’re lacing facilities in there.”