New Pincher Creek fire hall location chosen

Mar. 12, 2024, Pincher Creek, Alta. – A new, larger fire hall and ambulance station to replace their cramped space is something first responders in Pincher Creek have long been hoping for. As of last week, that’s now becoming a reality.

“This is very exciting for our department as we make the move towards a bigger facility,” Chief Pat Neumann said Friday after receiving the keys to the former Triple T Energy Services building on Hunter Street.

“This is something that’s been much-needed for a long time.”

The new Pincher Creek Emergency Services home, just east of the RCMP detachment off Highway 6, will get some modifications and renovations. For now, however, there’s no set timeline.

“All of our equipment [from the hall on Charlotte Street], we’re going to try and reuse and take what we can out of the existing facility, and that includes all of our apparatus and tools,” Neumann said.

A larger space will create a safer working environment for staff and the department’s volunteer core, he added, and a fenced compound next door will provide the means to carry out practice training on such things as vehicle extrications.

The new facility was also chosen for its location.

“It was one of the things we considered when we looked at a new hall,” Neumann said. “No. 1, highway access for our equipment to get where it needed to go, and second, easy access for our crews to get here quickly from their homes.”

Dave Cox, MD of Pincher Creek reeve and a former fire chief, is also thrilled to see the possibilities the new building will bring.

“We need the floor space. The current building is 40 years old and our crews are literally stepping on bumpers to get from one lane to another because there is so little room,” Cox said.

“We’ve renovated that building quite a few times, taking recreation space, turning it into living space and office space. We’ve pretty much made the best use of that building as we could, so this [new] opportunity will be good for us.”

Pincher Creek Mayor Don Anderberg agrees.

“One of the big issues we’ve got is space and an older building, so having the chance to buy this building and the property that goes with it is a real plus. It’s been on the radar screen for a long time, knowing that we’re going to have to do something, renovate the old building and add space or go to a new facility,” the mayor said.

“So, when this building came up for sale, we looked at it and saw that it could be a really good fit for what we envisioned for the future.”

The current facility at 655 Charlotte St., in place as a hall since the early 1980s, has brought with it some limitations over time, Anderberg added.

“One thing that has been talked about over the years is a ladder truck. [We] weren’t able to accommodate that in the existing hall, so it gives lots of opportunities for future growth and change.”