A Vernon neighbourhood is preparing for enhanced fire protection.
Construction has started on the $600,000 fire hall at Predator Ridge, and it’s expected the facility will be completed by the end of October.
“There is a benefit for residents of Predator Ridge from a safety perspective,” said Keith Green, Vernon fire chief.
Presently, if there is a fire at Predator Ridge, Sparkling Hill Resort or those parts of the Commonage in city limits, a fire truck must respond from the downtown Vernon fire hall.
A fire hall at Predator Ridge has been proposed for a number of years, and not just for residential blazes.
“There are significant interface issues (grass, timber). We’ve seen summers get drier and we expect that trend to continue,” said Green.
One engine and one tender will be stationed at the facility, which will be operated by volunteer firefighters.
“As the community grows, we expect the interest to grow from a volunteer perspective,” said Green, adding that there are already four volunteers who live at Predator and others will be rotated through the facility regularly.
The city is leasing the land for the hall from Predator Ridge Resort.
“With the size of our community today, a fire hall is an added level of safety and security,” said Brad Pelletier, with Wesbild Holdings, which owns Predator Ridge.
There are currently 600 units at Predator and the long-term build-out could be 2,000.
“There’s a lot of future development planned,” said Pelletier.
