At 8:02 a.m. on Jan. 8, Burnaby firefighters answered a historic call.
They were called to 8888 University Blvd. to rescue someone stuck in an elevator.
What made the call historic was that the crew that responded came from atop Burnaby Mountain, which has never had a fire hall before.
A temporary fire station opened in office space at 9055 University High Street on Jan. 8 as a placeholder until a permanent Fire Station 8 is built nearby on University Drive, and crews are now responding to calls on top of the mountain and the surrounding area.
An official opening of the temporary facility was staged Saturday.
“This is an important step in our work to greatly enhance our response capability in the event of an emergency in the Burnaby Mountain area,” Mayor Mike Hurley said in a news release. “Residents have been asking for this and we’re thrilled to be making this happen.”
The new, permanent Fire Station 8, which is expected to be operational next year, is a joint project of the city and Simon Fraser University and is supported by a $30 million commitment from the federal government.
“We care deeply about the well-being of the Burnaby Mountain community, and an important part of that is making sure that university and community members can quickly access emergency services,” SFU president Joy Johnson said in the release. “While Fire Station 8 is under construction, I’m thrilled that the City of Burnaby has established a temporary fire hall that will support these critical safety needs.”
Approximately 2,000 students currently live in residence and housing at SFU and more than 6,000 people live in the UniverCity development, but the city has long known about the need for Burnaby Mountain to have its own fire station.
On Saturday, the UniverCity Community Association welcomed the fire department to the neighbourhood.
“As a community we are delighted that this much-needed fire station is becoming a reality,” president Mario Guisado said.
Fire Chief Chris Bowcock said firefighters are looking forward to meeting residents, local businesses and the SFU community.
“Our crews are excited about getting connected and helping to keep people safe,” he said in the release.
Fire Station 8 is one of two new fire halls the city is building in the Burnaby Mountain area over the next year.
Fire Station 4, the Duthie hall, is being replaced on Greystone Drive and is expected to open by the end of the year. The city is hosting an open house on the Fire Station 4 project Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course clubhouse (7600 Halifax St.).
📣 SOUND OFF: Do you think UniverCity and SFU need the temporary fire station the city has set up? Has the city picked the right locations for the two new fire halls? Send us a letter.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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