Central York's newest fire station 'something community can be proud of'
Signature building to represent fire services to community

Yorkregion.com
Teresa Latchford
Nov. 28, 2017

Central York Fire Services’ fifth fire station will feature a contemporary yet functional design.

Thomas Brown Architects Inc.’s Paul McIntosh and Chris Kubbinga recently presented a design proposal for the fire station that will serve Newmarket and Aurora to Aurora council. Located on Earl Stewart Drive and Isaacson Crescent, the building will accommodate full-time crews, house fire apparatus’ and have space designed for training.

“Working together, we believe we have come up with a design the community will be proud of,” Kubbinga said.

The two-storey building will have a main entrance off Isaacson and an exit onto Earl Stewart. The hydro corridor to the north provides a buffer between it and the nearby residential area. The garage will be located in the middle of the building. The upper floor will bring together CYFS’s administration from the Gorham station and a training facility that is expected to become a hub.

The classroom space can also double as an emergency operations centre if it is ever needed, Kubbinga added.

“The site is built out much like a campus,” he added. “It is a functional building that brings many facets of fire services under one roof.”

As for the contemporary design of the building, it features glass, which adds to the esthetics and utilizes natural light. The building will also feature a variety of sustainable technology.

“We tried to treat it as a signature building that would represent fire services to the community,” he explained.

Mayor Geoff Dawe was impressed by the design but Coun. Wendy Gaertner was concerned about the abundance of glass included in the design. She pointed out town hall’s third floor features glass, making it hot in the summer and cold in the winter. She isn’t convinced it is the best options when considering energy efficiency.

Kubbinga noted the concern and explained the final design has yet to be completed, leaving room for reconsideration and further refinement.

Council approved the preliminary design and gave the go ahead to proceed to the final design stage.

Newmarket and Aurora will share the cost of the new building, a project budgeted for $11 million.