Sydney's new fire station to begin construction by December

Construction of along-awaited new fire station for Sydney will be underway by the end of the year, saysthe director ofengineering for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

"The RFP (request for proposals) will be out in a matter of weeks,"Wayne MacDonald said.

"That'll give the opportunity for the successful design-build contractors to put together a package. Once that's awarded, the process moves fairly quickly to get construction started."

MacDonald is hoping the work begins by early December.

The station will be located on Victoria Road, providing easy access to both Whitney Pier and Ashbyneighbourhoods. The Ashby firehouse was torn down several years agoaftermould was discovered. Thecurrent Whitney Pier station is old and wouldneedcostly upgrades.

BernieMacKinnon, director of fire services forCBRM,said the newstation will revitalize fire service for the area.

Big improvements

"It's going to provide a building that meets all the new codes. We're going to have a good area for response in the community and support from a regional perspective."

Deputy Fire Chief Chris March said the new station willhave:

• storage facilities for the rehab unit and mobile command unit
• better facilities for wellness and fitness for firefighters
• improved operational readiness
• improvedgender functionality
• a decontamination area
• training facilities

A road will be built behind the new station, enablingfire trucks to connect quickly with various parts of the city.

The original budget for Station 2, as it will be known, was $3.5 millionbut has been cut back to $2.6 million.

Three old former company houses on Victoria Road were demolished to make way for the newstation.