LAKE LOUISE – A $5 million federal government contribution will help spark construction of a new fire hall in Lake Louise.
Class D estimates, meaning the long-awaited project is at the conceptual design stage, are coming in around $13 million.
Officials say that early cost estimate doesn’t include any site preparation, although it does include some dormitory-style accommodation for on-call firefighters.
“We are estimating that the project will take four to five years to complete,” said Danielle Morine, CAO of Improvement District No. 9 and executive director of Lake Louise Banff Municipal Services Society, which oversees the fire department.
“The project will be managed by Alberta Infrastructure and every effort will be made to bring the costs down as much as possible while focusing on the program requirements that will allow the fire department to be as effective and efficient as possible.”
Currently, the Lake Louise fire department has four full-time officers and 17 paid on-call volunteer firefighters.
The existing fire department is housed within a Parks Canada facility and this space will be repurposed for national park operations once the new fire hall is built.
Lake Louise Fire Rescue provides structural fire protection, road rescue services, and first-response medical assistance in Banff National Park and to neighbouring jurisdictions through mutual aid agreements.
Up to November, the fire department has responded to 328 calls so far this year.
“Last year we saw 24 calls in December so we are estimating we will surpass our call volume for 2023 based on the fact that while the year started off slower (January-April), since then we have seen consistently higher call volume,” said Morine.
Dave Schebek, ID9 chair, said Parks Canada’s investment will help the ID9 support safe and enjoyable memories for the estimated three million annual visitors and residents across the ID.
“This new fire hall will provide the Lake Louise Fire Department with improved facilities for administration, training, operations, and safe storage of essential equipment in this iconic destination,” he said.
According to Parks Canada, the new fire hall will be subject to a mandatory review process involving rigorous impact assessment and evaluation against regulations, park management plans and related policies.
Parks Canada leads emergency strategic planning in Banff National Park and is directly responsible for technical mountain rescue and for wildland fire risk reduction and response throughout the national park.
Steven Guilbeault, federal environment and climate change minister whose portfolio includes Parks Canada, said safety is a top priority and a responsibility shared with ID9.
“This contribution will enhance emergency preparedness in a key tourism destination for Alberta and Canada,” said the minister in a press release.
