New Victoria fire department headquarters officially opens

Apr. 26, 2023, Victoria, B.C. – The City of Victoria’s new state-of-the-art, post-seismic Victoria Fire Department Headquarters, located at 1025 Johnson Street, is officially open.

The 3,762 square-metre (40,500 square-foot) downtown facility replaces the 2,480 square-metre (26,700 square-foot) former Fire and Rescue headquarters on Yates Street that has served Victoria since 1959.

The new public safety facility meets B.C. Building Code standards for buildings designed to remain operable post disaster. This means it was built to a seismic design load that is significantly higher than typical buildings.

The new public safety building is one of the largest mixed-used fire hall developments of its kind in Canada that combines affordable housing and fire department operations.

It was built under an agreement with local developer Dalmatian Developments Limited Partnership. The fire hall is part of a new 12-storey, mixed-use development that includes 130 units of purpose-built, affordable homes for low- and moderate-income seniors, families and individuals, and operated by Pacifica Housing.

The City owns the first three levels of the building where the Victoria Fire Department operates. With funding from B.C. Housing, Pacifica Housing owns and operates the top eight storeys of the building. There is also a single level of commercial office space.

In addition, B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) will occupy 297 square metres (3,200 square feet) of space from the City to operate a stand-alone, two-ambulance bay, downtown location for paramedics under a planned 20-year lease agreement.