Setting the standard

The new Windermere Fire Hall combines modern materials, historical design touches and a strong sense of community

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Tanya Laing Gahr photo

The building is hard to miss.

Just off the 93 Highway in Windermere, the new Windermere Fire Hall is taking shape, and the blazing red structure is a homegrown venture.

Ron Mason is the president of MDG Development Corporation, the general contractors on the project. Mason, a self-
described “Windermere guy,” is glad that local contractors and local architect Richard Cordner were used on the project.

“I have an emotional tie to the area,” he said. “So we went after (the contract) and we were very pleased to get it.”

Mason said the fire hall makes use of modern materials and high-quality, environmentally friendly systems, but reflects a more historical building style. That said, it doesn’t have all of the traditional touches of fire halls of old.

“Iâ��was disappointed that there was no pole,” he laughed, “but I understand that due to occupational health and safety rules that one’s not coming either.

The $2.23-million project will be used by volunteer firefighters, and Mason hopes the facilities will set the standard for volunteer firefighting in Western Canada.

“For Windermere to boast a hall of this magnitude and of this class shows that the (East Kootenay) Regional District is committed to the long-term goal of fire control for the residents of this valley,” said Mason, “and you’ve got to apply that in a big, big way.”

The project broke ground in the fall of 2009, and Mason expects the fire hall to be completed this summer.