Port Moody says yes to new fire hall
Port Moody residents voted 'Yes' to a new fire hall Saturday, allowing the city to borrow up to $16 million to replace its aging No. 1 station.
With only 1,980 of Port Moody's 21,551 registered voters casting ballots from the opening of advance polls on April 9 to the end of official voting day on April 16, approval for the multi-million-dollar loan passed with 58% of electors voting in favour of the loan and 42% voting against it.
The final tally Saturday showed 1,142 voters supported the loan while 838 were against it, with a total voter turnout of just 9.2%.
Construction on the proposed three-storey, 2,392-square-metre hall could begin as early as next year on the site of the current Fire Hall No. 1 at Murray Street and Ioco Road.
The current No. 1 hall was built in the early 1970s to serve a population of 11,000 Port Moody residents.
Today, the hall serves 33,000 residents and Port Moody Fire Chief Jeff Lambert has called the building a potential deathtrap in the event of an earthquake, citing cramped living quarters and cracks in the building's concrete foundation.
"Trucks can be replaced but we’ve got a whole crew of firefighters in here and they know that they’re living in a building that potentially could kill them.”
tcoyne@tricitynews.com
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.