Building gives fire chief the ultimate honour
Photo by Vince Fedorof
Whitehorse fire chief Clive Sparks will finally have the office he’s always wanted.
“I finally get the corner office,” he told reporters and city councillors Thursday afternoon.
He was speaking from inside a small corner, second-floor room with two windows – one looking out toward the front of the building and Two Mile Hill, the other to the side and up Hamilton Boulevard.
Sparks spoke during a tour of the newly-named Whitehorse Public Safety Building under construction at the top of Two Mile Hill.
Steel studs frame the room as it does all rooms inside the wooden structure next to the large 1,298 square-metre warehouse-style bay to accommodate the fire trucks.
Beginning the tour in the apparatus bay, Sparks notes the trucks coming off duty will drive through the entrance off Two Mile Hill and back into their bays.
When they leave to attend a scene, they will drive forward out the other side of the building onto Range Road.
For now, the structure that will house the fire trucks seems simply like a steel shell with the exception of a mezzanine on the two side walls and staircases to each.
Walking outside the apparatus bay-to-be, the noise of a large crane there to work on the building drowns out much of the conversation.
But George White, the city’s manager of maintenance and safety services, speaks loud enough to point out the solar wall that will be part of the new building.
He then leads the group down a slippery slope to view the other side of the building, the two-level, more traditional style office/staff building. He notes there’s room to expand the structure with a third floor as well as space to expand the apparatus bay.
“We’re trying to plan well into the future,” he said before also noting that though it may appear as one structure, there is actually a space between this part of Public Safety Building and the apparatus bay. A door on the second floor of the structure is the only part connecting one to the other.
Designed to be one of the last buildings in the city standing if there’s an earthquake, it means if there is a shaker, the two structures would tear apart from one another.
The structure is also well-insulated, architect Charles McLaren was quick to note, showing off the insulation on the outside of the building.
Moving in a side door that will serve as the public entrance, White explains that the large room entered will be the lobby.
Sparks appears most excited about the decor that is expect to greet the public as they enter: shelves of old artifacts and the city’s 1953-era fire truck the city also uses in parades.
Also included in the structure will be the proposed hall of fame that will honour the city’s past fire chiefs.
Both the first and second levels of the building seem to be a maze of framed in rooms of different sizes spread over the 1,434 square metres between the two floors.
Bylaw services will make its home on the first floor with offices, an interview room and a file room.
The smell of dust is evident through the first floor of the building as the tour draws closer to the large board room that will serve as the meeting room for the Emergency Measures Organization. It can be used as a training room for up to 30 people.
Sparks noted the department is looking at the possibility of hosting training opportunities for fire departments in other communities as well. There are also washrooms and a small kitchen off the larger room.
Leading the way up the set of wood stairs, White is quick to state what the entire upper floor is dedicated to.
“This is where fire services are,” he said as McLaren stepped through one framed room that will serve as a kitchen for firefighters and onto a deck, noting the great view of the city.
Three bedrooms, again appearing as nothing more than framed-in spaces at this point, line one side of the building. Other rooms are already fitted with housings to hold speakers which will be part of the communications system throughout the building.
“Obviously, communications is paramount,” McLaren said.
Wandering through the many rooms on the second level, the architect points to the windows, many higher than they would normally be, to allow more sunlight to stream in.
A laundry room and fitness area are part of the upper level for the firefighters and a shower room is designed with in-floor heating, White says. He noted the benefits that presents to frosty firefighters coming in from a call at -40 C.
White also notes, with McLaren feigning offence, that the city opted to make the function of the building a priority over how it looks.
“A lot of money has been spent for the use instead of appearance,” McLaren adds.
A space has been dedicated as the main base for the city’s overall computer system. Major servers and data equipment will be located in the room that has a specialized sprinkler system and some air conditioning to protect the computer equipment.
The heat generated from the servers, Sparks says, will be used to help warm the building.
“We’re stealing heat from the server room to heat the building,” he notes.
Along with the two staircases, the elevator will link the two floors.
While it’s hard to say exactly how many will work on the $10.7-million building during the construction into next fall, White says there’s probably anywhere from 20 to 30 people working on it at any one time.
As the tour comes to a close and officials move into the current fire hall next door, White and Sparks note how long the new building has been in coming.
The newer fire trucks just fit through the old doors, they state, showing off the little space between the trucks and the sides of the doors.
The current fire hall will serve as a storage site for the city.
“Trust us, it’ll get filled,” Sparks said, before leading media and city council outside to show off the training area for firefighters where they learn to extinguish flames from a structure, dumpster, car and other equipment.
Firefighters spend 200 hours in training on such fires before they can respond to a call.
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