Both the Mahone Bay Fire Hall and the Town Hall have been found by a Facilities Working Group to be unsafe work environments, to some extent.
As it stands now with the current fire hall on Kinburn St., the fire trucks barely fit in the building, the conditions are cramped for firefighters, and the lack of an apron area out front of the building is not up to regulations.
“The trucks that we have now barely fit in the building and the new firetruck that we will acquire in 2020, as determined by the fire underwriters, will not fit in the current building,” says Mayor David Devenne. “The fire hall itself is in contravention of regulations with respect to the apron out in front of the firehall where the trucks are able to enter the traffic area; they should not be going directly into a main street.”
Devenne says they’ll be assessing the current fire hall regarding refurbishment that could make it usable for the next 50 years or so, something the Mayor feels can’t be done economically.
Issues have also been found within the current Town Hall building, a structure that was built roughly 150 years ago.
“This Town Hall building, for all intents and purposes, been condemned as a workplace because of things like asbestos, lead paint and the lack of accessibility,” notes Devenne.
Staff will hire a professional to give options regarding the refurbishment and/or replacement of the current fire hall on Kinburn Street.
Council would also seek to move Town Hall operations to the old Fire Hall should a new one be built down the road.
At this point, the Town of Mahone Bay is still in the early research stages.
No decisions have yet been made.
Story by Craig Power
Twitter: @CraigTPower
Email: power.craig@radioabl.ca
