After years of delays, Calgary fire chief wants new fire station in Inglewood

Following years of efforts to get a new fire station built in Inglewood, Calgary's fire chief said it might just be time to get on with it.

The City of Calgary bought the land for a new fire hall in the southeast neighbourhood in 2009.

The plan is to build new stations in Inglewood and Bridgeland to replace the aging No. 1 fire station downtown, which is nearing the end of its life cycle.

Money for the new facility on 12th Street S.E. has been in the city budget for years.

Since 2015, the city has tried to pursue multi-use developments for new fire stations instead of single-purpose sites.

That can involve incorporating housing like at its Louise Station site or the Varsity Fire Station replacement now under construction.

In the southeast community of Walden, the city intends to incorporate a new library and fire station at the same site.

For the Inglewood station, the city has been trying to find a developer to build a residential and commercial project which would incorporate a fire station.

Chief Steve Dongworth said only one developer stepped forward and a deal failed to materialize for financial reasons.

While city officials continue to work on the file, the fire chief said it's not an ideal situation to keep waiting.

"We're saying let's just build a fire station there. Maybe build it in a way where you can build around it. Build it as a temporary fire station. Whatever we need to do to get that service in the ground," said Dongworth.

He said he supports the strategy for integrated facilities but for whatever reason, it hasn't come together for the Inglewood site.

"The strategies that the city has tried this time haven't worked and I don't blame them for that. These were novel approaches that we'd probably be singing and dancing about if they worked out well. But they haven't worked out well so now it's back to the drawing board."

Dongworth said a new station will be well placed to serve that part of Calgary, especially Ramsay.

He said the closure of the level-rail crossing on Eighth Street S.E. near Ninth Avenue S.E. in 2020 combined with weight restrictions on the MacDonald Bridge mean response times for fire engines to the community have increased.

The area's city councillor, Gian-Carlo Carra, agreed with the fire chief that it's time to get cracking on a new fire station.

"I would highly recommend that we do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good," said Carra.

"If we build something and we figure out we could have done it better, a different way, let's apply those learnings to the next project rather than try to get it perfect the first time because we need these things."

He also suggested that getting the new fire stations in place will allow the city to sell the No. 1 fire station site downtown. Carra said that would be a spectacular site for future residential housing units and generate a solid return for the city.

The city's general manager for infrastructure services, Michael Thompson, told city council in November that there have been challenges in redeveloping the Inglewood site.

"We appreciate the chief's patience," said Thompson.

"When you've got everything integrated into one building, it's more complicated and it's taken longer."

Still, he said the city is committed to delivering a new fire station and he'll be back to talk with city council about the plan sometime this year.