Paul Hurst鈥檚 favourite things about View Royal鈥檚 new public safety building aren鈥檛 its fitness centre, its automated alert system or its plush chairs with built-in cupholders.
After serving almost 10 years as fire chief in a 1957 hall deemed unable to withstand even a moderate earthquake, it鈥檚 all about the little things.
鈥淗eat. Heat is nice,鈥� Hurst said at a large table in the public-safety building鈥檚 kitchen.
鈥淣o mould,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any mice in the building. There are no finches coming up the furnace vent in my office.鈥�
The building is about 99.9 per cent complete, by Hurst鈥檚 estimation. Although it鈥檚 almost a year behind schedule, it will be completed within its $7,375,402 budget, he said.
Aside from the lack of rodents, Hurst said the building鈥檚 greatest quality is the improved safety it will provide the community as a one-stop shop for protective services. Hurst and his 35 firefighters 鈥� most of whom are volunteers 鈥� moved in about four weeks ago along with about 25 other administrators and emergency program staff.
The 20,000 square-foot property was designed by Hughes Condon Marler Architects and built by Ledcor Construction.
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Construction on the site just 300 metres from the former fire hall began in 2013, but plans for a new building stretch back more than 20 years.
The first request for a new fire hall came from a chief in the early 1990s, Hurst said. Engineering reports at the time concluded the building wouldn鈥檛 survive even a moderate seismic event and it was never designed to house career firefighters or serve as an administrative base. In 1999, a proposal to build a new facility for about $1 million on town-owned land was rejected.
Hurst became fire chief in 2005 and renewed the call in 2006. But residents petitioned against the town鈥檚 request to borrow $8 million, which was deemed excessive. Instead, View Royal residents voted 64 per cent in favour of providing a taxpayer loan of $5.49 million.
In addition to the loan, the project depends on casino revenue, proceeds from the sale of the old property and amenity money from new developments, including a $1-million contribution from the developers of the $100-million Eagle Creek Village project.
The site of the old fire hall at 280 Island Highway has not yet been sold, but was recently rezoned for four-storey mixed commercial-residential use.
View Royal Mayor David Screech said smart design has quelled earlier concerns about the high expense. He said council was not surprised by the project鈥檚 late completion, because the contract had such an ambitious timeline.
鈥淚 think that View Royal residents have amazing value for their money,鈥� Screech said.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 a beautiful building, it鈥檚 very well-designed and not excessive.鈥�
He said it鈥檚 an important new home for the town鈥檚 fire department and other protective services such as bylaw enforcement.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of the building,鈥� Screech said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 wonderful. It鈥檚 turned out beyond expectation.鈥�
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On a tour of the facility, Hurst pointed out several features that will improve health and safety of staff, as well as residents facing emergencies.
Six to eight minutes should be shaved off night-time response times, thanks to sleeping quarters for four. Previously, volunteer firefighters were on-call from their homes.
The 鈥済ear room,鈥� where firefighters store their protective clothing, has an air filtration system that removes dirt, soot and asbestos. Residue at the old fire hall was sucked into a basic air circulation system and would routinely appear on keyboards and lampshades in other rooms, Hurst said.
With post-disaster construction standards, the building should withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake. It鈥檚 also equipped as a remote workspace for West Shore RCMP, a standby location for sa国际传媒 Ambulance paramedics and a remote town hall, in the event of a disaster or disruption.
The View Royal fire department has already responded to dozens of calls from their new hall. The first incident was one where two RCMP officers had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, after rescuing a man from an apparent suicide attempt.
For Hurst, who spent nine years fighting for the building, it鈥檚 a relief to see the project near completion. Although he has no immediate plans to retire, when the time comes, he said he can feel good about it.
鈥淚 can retire knowing the community is in a better place, fire protection-wise, than when I started back in the early 1980s,鈥� Hurst said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see it finally here. You read the blueprints, look at plans and you talk to architects for years and years and years. And you can visualize it, but then all of a sudden it鈥檚 here and you go: wow, amazing.鈥�
