Vancouver Island’s ski hill may finally be poised to get full-fledged fire protection.
“This has been a long time coming,” Comox Valley Regional District Area C director Edwin Grieve said. “We narrowly averted tragedy up there about three times.”
READ: Mount Washington residents get fire protection
Pending the adoption of bylaws, directors approved a recommended $700,000 contribution from CVRD Area C and a further $200,000 from CVRD Area B towards construction of a fire hall on Mount Washington.
The fire hall project is expected to cost $2.49 million. Electoral assent is required for long-term borrowing.
Grieve hopes the project will get going as soon as possible while the Canadian dollar remains relatively stable.
“It’s never going to get cheaper to build than it is today,” he said.
Following a successful referendum in 2016, the CVRD board established the Mount Washington Fire Protection Service and authorized the borrowing of $415,000 to develop a fire service storage facility. Since 2017, the Oyster River Fire Rescue department has been providing services to Mount Washington, including training volunteer firefighters.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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