Jul 17, 2008 - 04:30 AM

By Keith Gilligan

AJAX -- There's no fire pole, but just about everything else a firefighter would want or need.

The new fire station has opened in northeast Ajax and while there's some finishing touches still to be completed, the hall has firefighters there and waiting to respond to calls.

The hall opened last week and, in addition to firefighters, it also serves as the headquarters for the department, with the chief, two deputy chiefs, fire prevention, the dispatch centre and administrative staff now located there. The 28,000-square-foot building, at the corner of Salem and Rossland roads, replaces the station on Monarch Avenue as the headquarters.

Firefighters will remain at the Monarch station, as well as the hall at Westney Road and Hwy. 2.

Chief Randy Wilson likes the new station.

"I'm really happy with the design," he said. "There are so many little things that have to get done. There are touch-ups and we have to hang things."

The new station was desperately needed, he said.

The Monarch hall is 32 years old and "we had staff sitting without offices. We outgrew it," Chief Wilson said, adding when the old HQ opened, "when we moved in, we thought it was the ultimate building."

There are no female facilities at Monarch and "next year, pending budget approval, we want to put in female facilities," Chief Wilson said.

There are three female firefighters, as well as some support staff.

When Chief Wilson joined the department in 1979, the department totalled 23, including firefighters. The department now has 101 total staff.

The new hall houses the emergency operations centre (EOC), which replaces the current one at the Veridian headquarters on Taunton Road. In the case of an emergency, such as the 2003 blackout, the EOC will be used to co-ordinate efforts in Ajax.

There are two fire suppression crews staffing the hall at any given time, Chief Wilson said.

That means there are up to 10 firefighters at the station. There are crews of up to five firefighters at each of the other two stations.

In addition, during the day, there are training officers and fire prevention staff.

There are separate female facilities, complete with their own dorm. When working on the night shift, firefighters are allowed to sleep.

One of the features of the new hall is the training tower. The training tower isn't functioning yet, the chief said, adding the burners still have to be installed.

There are two simulations in the tower, "one to simulate a bedroom fire and one a kitchen fire."

When operating, the tower will use propane and not wood or diesel fuel, he said, adding the smoke that will be created is non-toxic and environmentally friendly.

"We're the only one in the Region with a training facility," he said. "Community colleges have contacted us about using the tower, to rent it out to them.

"We haven't figured out how much we'll use it," he said, noting that once the department's needs are known, then staff can figure out when it's available.

The environment was taken into consideration when the building was being considered. It's LEED (Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, with such features as a green roof, under-floor ventilation, a ground-source heat pump and cisterns to collect storm water for later use.

One environmental feature is windows in offices will open up. But, when a window is open, the heating and air conditioning in the room shuts off, the chief said.

Construction will start in the fall on a LEED-certified Operations and Environmental Services depot immediately south of the fire hall.

A public open house for the fire hall is set for October during Fire Prevention Week.

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