CHERRY GROVE - Despite gloomy clouds and constant rainfall on May 7, the mood was celebratory as the MD of Bonnyville celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Cherry Grove Fire Hall and Grader Shop, marking a milestone for the community's safety and development.
The new facility comes as a response to an increased demand for fire services, and the community's need for a centralized location to support emergency response and public works.
M.D. of Bonnyville Coun. Ben Fadeyiw shared his excitement about the event, saying, "It's been quite a few years running, and it was thanks to the community support that we're actually getting this done.”
The new fire hall is expected to improve emergency response times and provide a much-needed resource for Cherry Grove and surrounding areas, located on the eastern side of the MD of Bonnyville.
Fadeyiw acknowledged there were challenges leading up to the project.
“We've been talking about it for the last five to six years, and there were some challenges,” said Fadeyiw, but it was an incident in April 2023 that saw a church in Cherry Grove destroyed by fire that spurred things into action.
“So now we're here, and the community is supporting us,” said Fadeyiw. He highlighted that having a fire hall in Cherry Grove will reduce the reliance on fire services from the City of Cold Lake.
With the new facility, residents and local volunteers can respond more rapidly to emergencies, rather than waiting for emergency crews to travel to the area.
"And now that we have it here, people from the community can jump in and help along with that," Fadeyiw explained, acknowledging the positive response received from community volunteers.
Bonnyville Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney also highlighted the positive impact the new fire hall will have on the community.
"I think it can do nothing but good for the community. Number one, we get a fire hall right close to a population base, which is going to help folks with the speed of response... It's going to offer up a big opportunity for folks to really get involved in the community," he said.
Heney discussed the steps taken to engage the community and encourage volunteerism with the creation of a new fire station.
"Even before the approval process happened, we asked folks to put their hand up to see who would be interested in being firefighters. We had about 60 people on the list. We've done the application process. I think we've got 22 or so folks who have followed through with the application process."
Dual purpose
The facility will also house a new grader shop, a critical component for public works.
MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski expressed his approval of the dual-purpose facility, stating, "It's a great thing for the community to have. And like I said, it's overdue for this area... the closest place is Cold Lake... We're almost at the Saskatchewan border here."
Kalinski noted the benefits of having both a fire hall and grader shop in the same location.
"It helps us out too with a grader shop and stuff being here. Our grader shop was getting old here at Beaver Crossing. So, it'll be nice to have that here too."
Construction of the Cherry Grove Fire Hall and Grader Shop is expected to be complete by late Spring 2025. The building will feature three grader bays, two fire truck bays, office space, a training room, and a water cistern for fire truck fill and facility needs, according to information from the M.D of Bonnyville.
