A 16-hectare (40-acre) parcel of land in the RM of Corman Park near the Loraas landfill south of Martensville is slated to be the site of a new regional firefighter training centre.
The Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) will build and operate the facility; but it will also be utilized by volunteer fire departments in Warman, Martensville and other communities in the area.
Design and construction work on the new $5 million facility is expected to begin this summer, with the initial phase likely to be operational in 2022.
Corman Park Council approved an application by Echo Properties to subdivide the 16-hectare parcel at its meeting on Monday, June 14. The subdivision allows Echo Properties to sell the land to the City of Saskatoon for the establishment of the training facility.
The SFD is expected to take possession of the property, which is located in an area already identified for future ‘regional infrastructure’ zoning under the P4G, by the end of September.
SFD Assistant Chief for Staff Development and Safety Anthony Tataryn said the new facility is sorely needed.
“We lost the training structures we had about 15 years ago,” said Tataryn. “That facility needed extensive upgrades at the time, and there was no point in investing in a facility located in the middle of a fast-growing city.
“We had to find a new location.”
While discussions on this new facility began in earnest in 2018, the search for a site actually began about 30 years ago, said Tataryn.
“This is our fourth attempt at getting a training facility, so I’m happy to say we have finally acquired the land,” said Tataryn. “During this whole process it became apparent that there was a need for a regional facility, and we had to find a location that would meet everyone’s needs and be as accessible as possible while also being in a suitable rural area.
“This location will benefit everyone in the long run.”
The site of the new facility is southeast of the Loraas landfill between Highways 11 and 12. It is accessed via Lutheran Road (Township Road 382).
Tataryn said the facility will be built in phases, with live fire training having the highest priority.
“We need to be able to train in a safe environment,” said Tataryn. “And that has been fairly limited in the last few years.
“We’ve had to be creative by arranging short-term access to privately-owned land and also sending members to other regions like Calgary where they have established training facilities.”
The budget for the new regional facility was set by Saskatoon City Council two years ago. Since then, construction costs have skyrocketed. That will have an impact on how much construction work can be done in the initial phase, said Tataryn.
“Ideally, there will also be some office and classroom space and a larger indoor training facility to allow for four-season training,” he said. “Down the road, we’ll be looking at high-angle rescue and confined-space rescue training.
“But before anything gets built, there needs to be a lot of groundwork done, including drainage and grading of the site.”
The summer road currently used to access the site may also have to be upgraded to accommodate large vehicles. In addition, the site will have to be secured with fencing and lights.
Tataryn said environmental stewardship is built into the facility’s design, with drainage ponds constructed to allow for retention and re-use of surface water during training exercises.
“Our water-capture plan will serve multiple purposes,” he said. “We’ll use natural bio-filters for the reservoir, which in the long-term may also be used for practice dives. The reality is that water is costly, and we want to capture and recycle as much as we can.”
While details of the facility’s operations are not yet finalized, it is likely the SFD full-time firefighters will utilize the facility during weekday hours, while volunteer firefighters certified to professional standards will be able to access it during evenings and weekends.
Tataryn said all fire departments in the region work together and assist each other when necessary, so having a common training facility makes sense.
The SFD has 280 operational firefighters and responds to approximately 16,000 calls for service annually, including fire, EMS and vehicle extrications.