CHERRY GROVE – A destructive and intentionally set fire that reduced a church in Cherry Grove to rubble on April 28 has spurred renewed discussions on the need for a local fire hall to be constructed in the hamlet.
On May 9, MD of Bonnyville Deputy Reeve Ben Fadeyiw requested an amendment to the regular council meeting’s agenda to discuss the possibility of building a fire hall in Cherry Grove.
“Sad events really highlighted the lack of public safety in the hamlet,” Fadeyiw shared with his fellow council members.
Having received many calls from community members, Fadeyiw said that Cherry Grove residents were deeply impacted after watching the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints burn down before responding firefighters arrived on scene to extinguish the blaze.
The deputy reeve went on to say that concerns remain high in the community with many people scared to leave their homes and property unattended after the suspect, charged with multiple counts of arson, was released from custody.
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“It's really put a scare in all the residents there and it's something that I've never experienced before as far as people being scared to leave their homes,” he said.
Fadeyiw inquired how the municipality might go about constructing a fire hall in Cherry Grove and the costs associated with it.
Administration noted while the discussion had come up in the past, the greatest hurdle to constructing a fire hall in the Hamlet of Cherry Grove is accessing water. The Cherry Grove community is not connected to the regional water line and does not have underground aquifers that can be tapped into, council heard.
When it came to the April 28 fires, tanker trucks from Iron River, La Corey, Bonnyville and Cold Lake were called in to assist in hauling water from Cold Lake to the location of the fire.
Fadeyiw noted that the Cherry Grove community hall expressed a willingness to donate land towards a new fire hall.
He also suggested that in the short term, apparatuses earmarked for retirement could be used in a future Cherry Grove fire hall.
“That is something we can use, instead of buying new,” he said, adding the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) does an excellent job of maintaining their apparatuses.
More information on the possibility of a fire hall being built Cherry Grove is expected to return to council at the first regular council meeting in August.
“To be realistic, if we came back to the meeting in August with some basic plans, then it would end up in 2024 budget deliberations. We would likely not be talking about construction until this time next year,” said CAO Al Hoggan, providing a rough timeline.
When administration returns with a Cherry Grove fire hall package for council to consider, it will include the price of the building as well as the costs associated with supplying it with water, along with trucks and required gear.
Long time coming
Past decisions on whether or not to build a fire hall in Cherry Grove were put on hold as conversations on whether a grader shop should also be built sidelined the conversation, according to Fadeyiw
“That's what kept kicking it down the line. We knew we were looking for a grader shop as well. And the study came, and the study went, and I still don’t think they figured out where that grader shop was going to go. That was one of the hold backs to the hall,” he said. “We just can't keep kicking down the line.”
Hoggan pointed to the recently finished fire halls in Ardmore and Fort Kent that can serve as a valuable reference for any future fire hall construction.
“If it was determined that there was no requirement for additional transportation equipment or graders, I would suggest a design similar to the Fort Kent [fire hall] and if there is a requirement for transportation equipment, something similar or exactly the same as the Ardmore fire hall,” Hoggan told council.
The CAO noted the challenging issue to solve will be sourcing water.
Volunteers wanted, soon
Ultimately, a fire hall would also have to be staffed with volunteer firefighters. Council is already looking to plant the seed in community members' minds.
“Maybe start putting the word out and asking for volunteers and start working with BRFA and get some training. You can build a hall but, it's hard to build a good team of volunteers, so start now,” suggested Coun. Dana Swigart.
Following the recent fires in Cherry Grove, Fadeyiw believes there are enough people in the community who would come forward to be volunteer firefighters.