Fire Station Open in Southeast

There's a new fire station in town. Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Calgary Fire Department Chief Bruce Burrell and Associate Minister of Public Safety Rick Fraser were just a few of the names on hand for the opening of the Seton Emergency Response Station March 26.

"This fire hall in this neighbourhood is a terrific example of our commitment as a city council and as a community to make sure that every Calgarian has a safe community and how we need to plan for the future," Nenshi said to the gathered crowd of more than 100 residents. The new station will service the southeast communities of Auburn Bay, Cranston, Mahogany and Seton. The facility also includes offices for City of Calgary Parks with future additions including Animal & Bylaw Services and Calgary Police Service.

"It's about dividing services in the community in a different model," said Burrell.

In 2013, the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) responded to 490 calls in Auburn Bay, Cranston, Mahogany and Seton compared to 407 calls in 2012. Since 2011, the four communities have increased in size by more than 6,500 people reaching a total population of more than 24,000.

"Usually fire halls are surrounded by houses and lots of communities and this one feels like it's in a field on the edge of the city," said Nenshi. "But as a matter of fact, this is one of the first examples of where the city council and the community have managed to get ahead of growth and actually have services in place while the community is being built out.

"I think that is tremendously important in this particular neighbourhood of Seton. I am very excited to see how Seton grows, it's the first of a new model of new neighbourhoods on the edge of the city."

The new station is built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. LEED features include skylights in the apparatus bay allowing sunlight in and decreasing the amount of energy used during the day; solar hot water heaters; LED light fixtures; low-flow water fixtures and water conserving landscaping.

The total cost of the new fire station clocked in at $19 million with $15.8 million of that provided by the Government of Alberta's Municipal Sustainability Initiative.

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