A new chapter in the history of the Dalum Fire Department was opened last Saturday evening as it held the grand opening of its new hall.
The hall, sits west of the previous hall and it is a sight to behold, with enough space to house all of its apparatus under one roof.
The official opening included an evening of celebration. The department invited a number of special guests including Wheatland Reeve Glenn Koester and members of its council and staff. A great showing from the community and surrounding fire departments came out to celebrate the new hall. Entertainment included Safire, an acrobat who knew how to play with fire. About 200 came out throughout the evening.
“I was really happy with the turnout, including the firefighters from the area. It shows how we can work together,” said Dalum Fire Chief Albert Jensen.
The current evolution of the volunteer department began in 1992 when the community and Wheatland began providing the service. The Department shared a building with Wheatland County, where it stored some of its highway equipment.
The hall was inadequate with no water and not enough space for all of the Department’s equipment and some had to be stored off site. In 2013 they acquired the former Dalum School site for the new building.
The build cost in area of $1 million. The County funded the project for 60 per cent, and the rest was fundraised by the Dalum Fire Protection Society. The Department enjoyed great support from local businesses and families to make the hall a reality.
The build took about 22 months and today they have a hall that has about 10,000 square feet shop space to house its apparatus which includes a command rescue vehicle, a tandem engine, a single engine and a tandem tender, and bush buggy. It also has a Suburban and a bus, which they are contemplating turning into a hazardous material response vehicle.
The Hall also has 3,500 square feet that includes meeting and training space and washrooms. The department has 15 members.
