An official opening was held Saturday for a temporary modular fire station in Waverley West — a long-awaited development the city hopes will help reduce response times for the rapidly growing Winnipeg neighbourhood until a permanent station is built.Waverley West has never had a fire-paramedic station, even though city council approved the development of the southwestern Winnipeg area in 2005 and its grown rapidly since.Construction on the $6.8-million temporary station on Eaglewood Drive began
An official opening was held Saturday for a temporary modular fire station in Waverley West — a long-awaited development the city hopes will help reduce response times for the rapidly growing Winnipeg neighbourhood until a permanent station is built.
Waverley West has never had a fire-paramedic station, even though city council approved the development of the southwestern Winnipeg area in 2005 and its grown rapidly since.
Construction on the $6.8-million temporary station on Eaglewood Drive began last spring.
A fire engine and four-person fire/rescue crew, along with an ambulance and two-person paramedic crew, have been operating out of the station since December, but it was officially commissioned as Station No. 15 in an event on Saturday.
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“Residents of Waverley West are thrilled to be welcoming the WFPS crew to their new home in the heart of our rapidly growing community,” said Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes, who has pushed for a fire hall in the area since she was first elected in 2014.
“This solution ensures vital emergency services are delivered to this rapidly growing community,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said during the official commissioning ceremony.
The city expects the temporary station will help cut response times in Waverley West until a permanent fire-paramedic hall for the area is built on the South Winnipeg Recreation Campus.
“These stations are part of a broader strategy to ensure the public safety keeps pace with Winnipeg’s rapid growth,” Gillingham said.
Fisayo Fatoki, who has lived in Waverley West since 2020, said the station has been a long time coming. (Radio-Canada)
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Fisayo Fatoki, who has lived in Waverley West since 2020, said having a fire station close by brings a sense of relief.
“This has been long time coming. It’s been a promise … and it is finally here,” he said. “It is just a beautiful thing.”
Fatoki, who came to the commissioning ceremony with his 10-year-old son, said the interior of the station doesn’t look like other fire halls.
That’s because the new station is made of modular parts that can be disassembled and rebuilt in another part of the city at a later date.
Gillingham said that could come in handy when other stations undergo remodelling, or to add capacity in a new neighbourhood.
“The [population] growth is exciting, but it also comes with challenges, and it means we have to come with significant investment in public safety infrastructure,” the mayor said.
The provincial government has also pitched in to the temporary station, allocating $3.4 million to help the city hire 40 new firefighters for the station.
