City secures land for fire station

The City of West Kelowna has announced deals to buy property in Lakeview Heights which will allow for the relocation of Fire Station No. 32.

The City has agreed to purchase 2509 and 2513 Harmon Road and will relocate the Lakeview Heights Fire Station, currently nearby at 2708 Olalla Road.

Mayor Gord Milsom said the current station has served the community well for decades, but the current site and state of the building are past the life expectancy and can no longer accommodate the needs of the growing community.

“In order to provide the best possible fire protection to West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation, we needed to find a location in the same area that can grow with our community,” said Milsom. “The new location will provide an opportunity for us to build a safe, suitable fire station that meets our needs now and into the future and provides appropriate space for West Kelowna Fire Rescue to continue to protect our community.”

The properties secured for this future fire station are within the required area to ensure that the travel distances meet the requirements of insurance providers.

The location will allow the city to design a safe fire station, with better access to key transportation corridors, like Boucherie Road.

“The location was analyzed for traffic safety and it has been determined that visibility for the fire department, motorists and pedestrians is improved in all directions,” said a city news release.

Station 32 will continue to complement the fire service from the other neighbourhood fire stations: Glenrosa – Station 34, Rose Valley – Station 33 and Westbank Centre – Station 31.

Now that the land is secured, the rezoning process will be next.

Residents can visit www.westkelownacity.ca/subscribe to sign up to receive automatic emails regarding this rezoning process. The city will then undertake the detailed design of the fire station, which is expected to begin in 2020.

A timeline for construction of the new hall has not yet been determined.