Windsor cuts ribbon on new Emergency Operations Centre and Fire Hall

OurWindsor.ca
Sept. 21, 2017
Adam Gault

The City of Windsor cut the ribbon this morning on the new Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and Fire Hall No. 6 located at 1587 Provincial Road in an event attended by Mayor Drew Dilkens and Fire Chief Stephen Laforet.

This new facility is part of the city’s ongoing commitment to improving emergency response times and efficiency in the face of the continued development and population growth in the south end of the city.

The state-of-the-art facility will replace both the aging Station 6 that was located next to Windsor Airport and the old downtown EOC. These much needed upgrades to Windsor Fire & Rescue Services infrastructure are big step to bringing Windsor towards the forefront of 21st century emergency response management.

“The (previous) centre is certainly not designed with technology in mind. This facility is designed with the best technology, it’s designed to accommodate all the people who need to be in the room, providing information, feeding in the information, and making decisions in real time,” said Dilkens referencing that since becoming Mayor in 2014 the city has dealt with two floods and tornado making extensive use of the previous EOC.

The new building covers 13,800 square feet with 3000 square feet of dedicated space for the EOC. The building’s central EOC communications room features numerous work stations and roughly a dozen HD monitors which can be tuned in to various newsfeeds as well as the city’s many MTO cameras.

Two truck bays for various emergency vehicles, and living quarters for up to eight firefighters and two captains are also featured within the spacious new facility providing Windsor Fire with the ability to grow along with the city.

The building will also be resistant to lightning and seismic activity, as well as the ability to handle “100-year” rain events with a storm water retention basin.

“The entire facility was designed to be a post disaster building, meaning that it could be relied upon to function after a significant event occurs. Whether it be a tornado, an ice storm, or any other number of emergencies that may happen”, explained Laforet.

Construction on the new EOC began just over a year ago in July 2016 and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget at a cost of 5.2 million dollars.

In his closing remarks, Mayor Dilkens expressed confidence that this new building will continue to ensure Windsor’s readiness in dealing with emergency situations for many years to come.

“Whatever the future may bring, I’m pleased with this dedicated facility we built that we can continue to ensure safety in our community, and most importantly, an emergency response that’s appropriate to serve all of the needs of the residents of the city of Windsor.”