The Town of Hanover is planning to build a new, net-zero fire hall.
Council approved a staff recommendation this week to award the contract to Domm Construction Ltd. for the roughly $7.3 million project.
Mayor Sue Paterson says, the building will produce as much energy as it uses, explaining, “As climate action is happening all around us, we thought this was the appropriate time, when we have a new building happening. So we’re focusing around the design, the functionality and and climate action, all with this new build.”
Fire Chief Jeff Dentinger says, ‘We will have solar panels on the roof providing the majority of the power to the station. Inside everything will be run electrically, so the solar panels will provide the power to the the heating and the cooling and everything.”
Dentinger notes, “We will have a backup generator as well, just in case the power fails.”
Meanwhile, Paterson says the Town has been talking about the need for a new fire hall for many years. She says the current building has some deficiencies, noting, “As our community has grown, so has the need for a new fire hall. So what we’re trying to meet is the needs of our residents and of course comply with provincial regulations.” She adds, the Town wants to be able to offer modern, up-to-date training at the hall as well.
Director of Building and Planning Andrew Wilken told council on Monday, September 18th, Domm construction has experience building volunteer fire halls and estimates they can do the job in about 36 weeks.
The old fire hall is beside the current Civic Centre which houses the library and town hall. The new fire hall is set to be located on the east side of Hanover near the new senior school.
Paterson says the existing, older fire hall will be inspected and the Town will determine what it can do with it.
