Paradise fire hall celebrates grand opening, improved response times

Emergency reaction times are down and firefighters are feeling safer since a new fire house opened in Paradise in August.

Paradise No. 8 held its official unveiling on Friday, with a public open house happening on the weekend.

• Paradise new fire station open, finally

• Opening of Paradise fire station delayed again

The new fire station helps ease the burden of the west end station on Kenmount Drive and in Mount Pearl, says Chief Jerry Peach.

"We're already seeing great benefits forreduced response times," said Peach.

"I just had a resident speak to me justmoments ago about how he had a small fire on his street. He was amazed at how fast our guys got there."

Since its inception as a town, Paradise paid for fire services from St. John's Regional Fire Department and relied on the neighbouring stations. Now, the local station has at least four firefighters working at all times.

Delays not addressed duringopening

The station was initially slated for opening in June, but delays pushed things back two months.

The delays were sparked when sub-contractors grewconcerned they would not be paid by Baraco-Atlantic Corp., the company tasked with leading the project.

Baraco-Atlantic were in the midst of three separate lawsuits for money owed to Air-Tite Sheet Metal Ltd., Guy J. Bailey and Rona Inc.

During Friday's opening, Peach had nothing but praise for Baraco-Atlantic project manager RogerTulk.

"Personally, I'd like to thank Roger as well for being a very, very patient project officer," Peach said.

"We used to come along here, nine times out of 10 it was unannounced, and Roger would always be there to answer our questions."

When asked about specifics regarding the delays, Peach deferred comment to town officials.

Need filled for growing community

The grand opening is a welcome event for Paradise, which has swelled beyond the 17,695 residents counted in the 2011 census. The town grew by 41 per cent between 2006-2011, said Mayor Dan Bobbett.

"As a town grows, you get to that critical mass where you need certain pieces of infrastructure," saidBobbett. "We have that now."

The regional department took in new members during a recruiting drive in the summer. The new station houses a mix of senior, intermediate and junior firefighters selected by SJRFD'sdeputy chief of operations.

A number of locals who had been working in Mount Pearl were relocated to work in their hometown.

"You don't send all of your newest people into a new station," Peach said. "You put your most knowledgeable people forward, especially when you're breaking into a new territory like this."

As part of the grand opening festivities, a local sixth grader, Thomas Tippett, was made an honour guard commander for the day.

Tippett beamed from ear to ear as he held onto the ceremonial golden axe.

"It's a once in a lifetime experience," he said. "It's thrilling to be here."

The station will host an open house Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.