Firefighters in the community of Clareview are reaching out to the community to clear up concerns about their fire hall closing.
An open house was held Saturday afternoon to answer questions about the closure of Fire Station #18.
The fire hall - which has been open for 36 years - will shut down in March, to allow crews to clear asbestos from the building and work on a new roof, ramp and storage room.
“It’ll have its own air handling system, and this of course will mean that those byproducts of combustion, those contaminants, will not become part of the living space of the fire hall,” said Barry Lamb, EFRS Deputy Chief of Operations.
Lamb says the renovations should be finished by early 2015. The estimated price tag is $2.5 million.
“The renovations are going to be about a third of the cost of a new fire station. We're going to save 7 to 8 million dollars here,” said Lamb.
The temporary closure will mean six firefighters that work out of the building will be redeployed to nearby fire halls.
Lamb says when a first alarm call comes in, more than one station responds.
“Really, we're moving six firefighters and two trucks, so full first alarm response shouldn't be affected at all.”
