Two new firehalls in Central Alberta are set for completion this year.
The new Innisfail Fire Department building is on schedule with a tentative finishing date of the end of May.
The downtown project involves renovating the site of the old library building.
The space will be converted into offices, and training, staff, exercise and club rooms. The renovation also includes adding change rooms, the town’s emergency operations centre and a hose drying tower.
Seven equipment bays will be erected on the library’s old parking lot and the vacant lot on the south of the property will be used for parking.
The project is also expected to be completed within the budget of $1.8 million.
Innisfail director of corporate and protective services Darryl Joyce said the project has benefited from the good weather in December and January that allowed the bay additions to go up ahead of schedule.
He added they have hit a few snags in the renovations of the building but it hasn’t been anything that has affected the timeline.
The new hall will house close to 30 volunteer firefighters.
The new Olds Fire Department will be open in the fall of this year and town CAO Norm McInnis said construction is going along well.
The $3.2-million firehall is being built next to the RCMP detachment at 5110 65th Ave., and will be jointly used by the department, town bylaw and ambulance staff.
The new facility will replace the 35-year-old downtown hall, which was getting too small for the close to 40 volunteer members it houses.
McInnis said they felt getting the hall closer to the west side of town where most of the new growth is happening was important.
The old fire hall will now be used as a public works facility, which will help alleviate a lack of storage space until a new town hall and public works building is slated for construction in 2015.
Among the improvements for the new hall will be taller bay doors and more space for office and other assorted uses. McInnis said the new building is on budget.
cpapke@www.reddeeradvocate.com