SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The city's Station 1 fire department is in disrepair, a city councillor says.
The city of Summerside had issued a study to be done on the building's infrastructure about four months ago. It was recently completed, and Coun. Barb Ramsay, who chairs the city's fire, police and emergency committee, was among those who toured the building with a group of engineers during an inspection.
The study's findings were clear, she informed council during a regular meeting at city hall on Sept. 21.
"We know we need more than repairs at this point," she said. "We have to make some decisions in the very near future."
The fire department, which is located on Foundry Street, is about 60 years old, Ramsay said.
"We all know the windows are bad and the doors are bad and the roof is bad," Mayor Basil Stewart remarked during the meeting.
Other issues Ramsay noted include poor washroom facilities and no available showers for the firefighters. In addition, while the building's floor is supposed to be made of three feet of concrete, there are spaces where you can hear it's hollow underneath.
"There's so much that they don't have over there," she said, "that they do deserve as volunteers in our city."
City staff will be meeting early next week to go over the study and plan how to move forward, which might include renovating the building or adding an extension. Despite the building being in disrepair, Ramsay is excited about the possibilities and hopes to provide a safer space for Summerside's firefighters to work out of, she said.
Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
Twitter.com/dnlbrown95
