The official ground-breaking ceremony took place in East Sooke, formally beginning the construction phase for the new firehall.
According to George May, chair of the East Sooke Fire Commission, the project is on time and within budget. The structure will be a steel building, and will serve as a “post-disaster” building for the residents of East Sooke should a major earthquake or tsunami occur.
“The design of the new firehall is based on the East Sooke Fire Dept. operational requirements,” wrote May in an email. “The requirement for a replacement fire-hall was realized over 15 years ago. The Fire-Trustees/Fire Commissioners over the years have worked hard to make this a reality.”
May expressed appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. David Broadbent for “providing a suitable land parcel at an affordable cost,” enabling the project to move forward, and to CRD director Mike Hicks for providing “funds for the extension of the water line to the new firehall site.”
Some of the paving of the driveway have been postponed, allowing the project to come in on budget. This new building will meet the fire underwriters’ requirement on the space requirements for the fire trucks, thereby preventing a big jump in house insurance rates for East Sooke residents.
