Fire Department Increasing Safety & Service: Proposed Relocation of No. 5 Station
The Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) continues to take steps to improve safety and service for Saskatoon residents. To meet these goals it plans to relocate Fire Station No. 5 from Central Avenue to the College Quarter at the University of Saskatchewan.
“What we want everyone to understand about the new service model is that it’s aimed at increasing safety and decreasing overlap between stations,” says Fire Chief Morgan Hackl. “Emergency services to the Sutherland, University and other nearby area neighbourhoods will be maintained, or even improved by the new location.”
Chief Hackl says the SFD is responsible for emergency response and protection for nearly $100 billion worth of buildings and assets.
The change comes as a result of a review of SFD operations leading to the development of a new service model to make response times even better for the entire City. The model aims to ensure that the delivery of services to citizens is done in the most effective and efficient way possible as the City looks to the future and how to provide emergency response service to a city of 500,000 residents.
“This is all part of good governance,” Hackl says. “Re-evaluating station locations allows us to concentrate on spending tax dollars effectively and efficiently while working toward meeting national standards for response times.”
Come-and-go information sessions for area residents and stakeholders will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on November 7 at the Sutherland School and on November 9 at the Saskatoon Field House.
A capital budget request of $8.79 million will be included in the City of Saskatoon’s 2018 Preliminary Corporate Business Plan & Budget for the relocated station. A request for $500,000 was previously approved for 2017.
Along with the relocation of No. 3 Station, Hackl says this relocation will mean a third station in Stonebridge won’t be necessary – saving the City $6 million in construction costs and $3 million each year in operating costs.
Saskatoon Land has been working with the University of Saskatchewan to identify an adequate site for Fire Station No. 5 within the College Quarter that would assist the Fire Department in meeting national standards for response times. An announcement on the exact new location will be made when plans are finalized.
More information, including frequently asked questions and the history of Fire Station No. 5, is available at saskatoon.ca/NewServiceModel.
The safety of the entire community is a priority in the City’s strategic goal to improve the quality of life for citizens, and specifically the four-year priority to ensure that emergency response times for the Saskatoon Fire Department meet the needs of citizens.