BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

Berwick’s firefighters are ready to build a new hall.

They’ve worked out what they want down to the square foot, but won’t know until Dec. 12 what it will actually look like - or cost.

Fire Chief Laurie Saunders and firefighter members of the building committee Ken Redden and Stephen McMahon updated Berwick councillors at the Nov. 13 session, as a request for design build submissions was being readied for release.

“The existing fire hall (built in the 1960s) does not meet our needs: it’s not an adequate size, there’s a six-inch clearance on the bay doors when guys are backing trucks in and they’re moving between the trucks and their lockers on calls in a foot or two of space,” Redden said.

The town, the Berwick Fire Commission and the fire department have been working for several years on a new fire hall proposal for a lot purchased on the northeast end of Commercial Street.

The biggest differences in the proposed facility will be ground level community space, meeting rooms and offices; and an extra 2,000 square feet in the truck bay (growing from four bays to six).

McMahon said the plans have tried to take advantage of “basic architectural features.” The bay doors will face Commercial Street, and firefighters will park and enter the apparatus floor from the rear of the building. There will also be space at the back for equipment maintenance and repair. The radio room will jut out from the front of the building, so dispatchers may look out and see both the bay doors, the apron and the road. Classroom space for training will also be available for rentals, and the kitchen and canteen will serve both the clubroom (the same size as the clubroom at the old hall) and the recreational hall. All the wiring and plumbing will be built into the north wall in case a deal is ever finalized with the RCMP for a new Berwick detachment.

The building is also incorporating “green” designs where possible, including a south wall expanse of solar panels to heat the bay with in-floor heating to 15 degrees. Community spaces will be kept at 15 degrees as well, but occupational sensors will raise the heat on demand to 20 degrees.

Contractors must drop $100 to pick up the fire hall’s specifications; they have until Dec. 12 to submit the style of building they think would be the best match.

“I can’t tell you the cost,” said Saunders. “There is a budget, but we’ll leave it to the contractors to price.

“We visited five different stations and came up with what we feel will be the best and most economical for us.”

Berwick chief administrative officer Bob Ashley said there is $2.5 million on the books for the project (half of that will come from the fire commission).

Contractors who do respond by Dec. 12 are asked to submit offers based on both a winter and spring start to construction. It’s anticipated the project will take five or six months to build from when it starts.