Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre in North Vancouver is underway. The 48,000 sq. ft. building will include a new state-of-the-art indoor training building with apparatus bays and support areas, a 1.6 acre outdoor training area, head quarters, and four double bay fire halls.
The new sustainable building will be made to post-disaster standards in case of emergencies like earthquakes and major power outages. The facility is expected to have a 71 per cent reduction in energy use and a 92 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the existing building. The land was originally an underutilized land parcel from a contaminated landfill that was overgrown with invasive flora species, when complete it will be transformed into a community resource with native plant landscaping. While breaking ground, our team removed contaminated soils from the gravel aquifer, reducing potential threats to the quality of the local water and nearby bird sanctuary wetlands downgradient, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the area.
The fire hall and rescue centre will help support Maplewood, Dollarton, and surrounding Indigenous communities as they expand into higher density residential and commercial neighbourhoods in Vancouver. The new facility is also designed to meet post-disaster conditions so it can perform as an Emergency Operations Centre.
The outdoor training area includes:
- Commercial and Residential props
- Fire behaviour training
- Simulated Boat Fire Rescue
- Auto extrication
- Collapse Ditch / USAR
- Confined Space training
- Draughting pit
- Hose training