Starland County has moved out of the new Munson Fire Hall and into a temporary administration office in Morrin, allowing the department to move in and have a grand opening.
Munson Fire Chief Steve Wannstrom says the Munson Fire Department was in the hall less than a week when fire destroyed the Starland County Administration offices on May 25, and the new hall was used as a temporary home. This week, Starland announced it is now operating in a building in Morrin across from the office on Main Street.
Chief Wannstrom is glad to have his new hall back.
“We couldn’t have had it finished at a better time. The fire department had possession of it for three days until we handed it back to the county,” said Wannstrom. “It was not ideal for them but it certainly worked well.”
The new hall will also work well for the fire department. It has three double drive-through bays allowing them to store all of their apparatus in one place and under one roof. There is also a galley kitchen, space for meeting and training.
“It also serves as an emergency operation centre,” said Wannstrom. “When you are operating out of there, you have the ability to feed people and various things like showers. It also has a backup generator to run the whole facility.”
Starland County also has its bulk water station on the site for accessibility. There is also space outside of the department for training.
“If we want to get some cars in there to do some practice, or maybe a Sea Can to make a smokehouse for
training, there’s room,” said Wannstrom.
The hall had a budget of about $2.5 million, with funding from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. Lear Construction was awarded the construction contract.
The department wants to show off the new building and is hosting an open house on Saturday, September 8. It all starts with a barbecue at noon, followed by cake and tours of the facility.
