Peachland, B.C.’s fire hall crowded, aging, impacting response times: fire chief

Peachland residents will soon be able to vote on whether they want to borrow up to $17.5 million for a new protective services building

In just under two weeks, Peachland, B.C., residents will be able to vote on whether they want to borrow up to $17.5 million for a new protective services building and pay the tax increase.

The current fire hall is over 60 years old, and the Peachland fire chief, Dennis Craig, says the department has outgrown the building.

Crews have to maneuver through tight spaces while gearing up for calls. The garage has little to no room for crew members to walk around the trucks or open engine doors all the way.

During the day, the fire chief and deputy chief as well as an administrative emergency services clerk are in the hall with a complement of 40 paid on-call firefighters.

“It’s well outlived its useful service life. It was never actually built as a fire hall, it was built as a park or public works building. There’s no room for expansion and the building’s not really rendered suitable just to make it fit our needs going forward,” said Craig.

“The floor areas for firefighters to get dressed, to change, to respond to calls — it’s very, very tight and very crowded.”

He went on to say that there isn’t space in the current hall for the necessary upgrades to help keep crew members safe.

“We are all aware of the presumptive illnesses that firefighters face going forward. One of those being cancers and WorkSafe recognizes that cancer is a presumptive illness,” said Craig.