Fort City Council will discuss the question of a second fire hall at the full meeting in May, but it will not make a decision until later date.

Council agreed last week to set aside its regular May 13 meeting just for a full discussion of the proposed fire hall and future growth of the fire department. A second meeting date will then be set to actually decide on the new fire hall design.

Issues to be discussed on May 13 include a look at the fire hall design and costs, the need for a training facility, the emergency coordination centre, the existing fire hall and equipment, fire department staffing and operations and the Fire Master Plan including recommended response times.

The discussion is expected to leave no time that day for any other business.

Several Council members want to find options that will reduce the cost of the second fire hall, which officials say could be as much as $24.5 million.

Councillor Patrick Noyen asked last week if the new hall needs to have a fire training tower, suggesting that local industry might already be able to provide this facility.

Councillor Brian Kelly urged delaying any costly construction until City Council and fire officials look at how new technology and fire prevention methods are affecting fire statistics, and reducing the number of deaths due to fire. He said we should focus more on prevention and less on response.

“I think it’s time, perhaps, for the traditional model of fire services be re-examined,” Kelly added.

Councillor Gordon Harris disagreed, saying Fort Saskatchewan needs a second fire hall sooner rather than later.

Mayor Gale Katchur also argued against further delay of any kind. She feels the May 13 meeting is unnecessary. “I feel the report given to us a couple of weeks ago was sufficient,” she said. “But Council has to be comfortable.”

Fort Saskatchewan purchased a 7.7 acre site for a second fire hall in Southfort in 2016 for $4,408,000. Design for the new hall was set at that time to take place in 2018, with construction to begin in 2020.

The second fire hall is considered necessary in order to get fire trucks to the scene quickly enough even in the newer neighbourhoods. The accepted standard is to get a truck at the scene within 10 minutes of a call. Parts of Westpark and Southfort are too far from the existing fire hall for this standard to be achieved.