Ground broken on regional fire training facility

Saskatoon, Martensville and Warman, along with the RM of Corman Park, have formed an agreement to build a new regional training facility for firefighters.

The building will be set on 40 acres of land just a kilometre north of Saskatoon, and will have space for both indoor and outdoor training exercises.

Charlie Clark, mayor of Saskatoon, said the facility will have a lasting, positive impact on all the communities involved.

“It’s going to serve the region very well for the next 100 years,” Clark said. “We’re really building for the future to make sure we can build the safest communities possible for those future generations.”

Gary Philipchuk, mayor of Warman, said he was excited to see the project come together.

“The synergy between regional partners would maximize the training opportunities and the protection of firefighters and residents in the area,” Philipchuk said.

The project has been in the works for decades, and Saskatoon Fire Chief Morgan Hackl said the investment into the new facility will open up more training scenarios to make sure everyone can do their jobs safely when they respond to real-world emergencies.

“Fire services face many challenges, such as fast-burning modern construction, densification, and they need to maintain the complex skills as an all-hazard response provider,” Hackl added.

The Saskatoon Fire Department currently has two training facilities, but the department is only able to train around 50 people at once. The new facility will be able to more than double that, once it’s fully completed.

The project will open in phases. The first phase is currently underway, and is expected to be finished in the spring of 2023. Once additional funding is secured, the next phase of the project will begin.

Clark said the City of Saskatoon allocated $4.25 million to the project, which was made possible by increased provincial funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are still ongoing discussions about how much each region will contribute to the construction and operating costs.