New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services is feeling the squeeze.
A temporary storage structure located behind the Glenbrook fire hall, next to the recycling depot, will have to hit the road as construction of a new aquatics and community facility unfolds. The site will eventually be used for parking for the new facility.
“Hopefully, once the pool is done, we will have a plan to where we can relocate it,” Fire Chief Tim Armstrong said of the storage tent. “It is basically keeping some storage for equipment.”
The large fabric tent provides storage for some of the fire department’s vehicles, including its antique Mack fire truck. It also houses equipment stored in shipping containers.
“It’s going to be in place for a while,” Armstrong said of the storage tent.
While the site where the tent stands was considered for a spot for staging equipment during construction, Armstrong said the fire department indicated that wasn’t really conducive to its operations. He’s confident a new storage space can be found.
It won’t be the first time New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services has had to relocate items now stored in the tent. The fire department previously had a storage space at Sapperton Landing Park, until it was needed by Metro Vancouver.
“We had to move out of there,” Armstrong said. “We looked at some temporary measures.”
The fire department had considered using a space at the Queensborough fire hall, but that didn’t work out, Armstrong said.
“We ended up losing a back section of our property there to a development that is going in on the corner,” he said. “We are kind of getting squeezed, real-estate-wise, all over the place.”
Some residents have contacted the Record via social media to inquire about the status of the structure. Others have suggested it may be a gym space for firefighters, but that’s not the case, Armstrong said.
“They have a gym in the hall,” he said.
