Public information session on proposed new Peachland fire hall

Photo: Peachland Fire and Rescue Services

A report delivered to council in 2021 said the current fire hall is too small for modern apparatus, including an aerial truck.

An open house is scheduled tonight in Peachland to give the public more information about a proposed new protective services building in the community.

The open house is being held in advance of a referendum this fall to ask eligible voters whether they support the borrowing of funds to relocate and construct a new building to replace the current fire hall.

The new facility would be on district-owned property at the corner of San Clemente Avenue and 13th Street. It will house the fire department and may also include other community safety services for Peachland and surrounding areas.

The public information session will take place at the old fire hall at 4401 3rd Street. Interested residents can stop by anytime between 3 pm and 7 pm, to learn more.

A Fire Department Master Plan delivered last year outlined a number of problems with the current fire hall. These included a shortage of space to store personal protection equipment and electronics and no separate shower facilities for men and women. It also pointed out the hall is too small for more modern apparatus, including an aerial truck.

However, the report also said that the proposed new site might not be big enough to serve all future needs and recommended that the district establish a capital reserve fund for the procurement of an alternate property for a future satellite fire hall.

Peachland Fire and Rescue Services not only provides fire and rescue services to residents, but it’s also one of eight partners in the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s mutual aid agreement during wildfire events and does auto extrication to the Coquihalla Connector and Highway 97 outside the Peachland municipal boundary, as well as marine rescues on Lake Okanagan and low embankment rescue at the operations level.

A second open house on the proposed new protective services building will be held sometime in September.