High River firefighters can rest easier in their newly renovated fire hall until the "tones" go off that is!

Fire Chief and Manager of Protective Services and Emergency Management for the Town of High River, Cody Zebedee says so much has changed.

"With the new addition and renovation to the existing structure of our Fire Hall, we've seen some significant upgrades. Some of the big ones are the HVAC system." Zebedee says "We never used to have air movement in much of the building so now we have lots of air movement and that helps to remove some moisture and we've put in exhaust extraction on the apparatus so that when the trucks are firing up in the hall, all that exhaust gets pushed outside the building."

The HVAC system even helps save time when cleaning equipment.

"In the hose tower, the HVAC system helps us dry the hoses. In the past we hung hoses to dry for three to four days, now with the extra heat in the tower we can dry hoses in a day or so."

The building has been outfitted with LED lighting that automatically shuts off or turns on when members leave or enter a room.

A new upgrade Zebedee says will also help reduce the station's ecological footprint.

In the new addition, they have added office spaces which Zebedee says is a massive improvement.

"In the past, we were just working out of ATCO trailers due to mold issues with the building so this is a huge welcome back surprise for the administration staff and members of the department to have secure file storage, and a place to complete their paperwork."

It's not all just new offices and HVAC upgrades though.

Zebedee says they've made a lot of changes that will help improve the health and wellness of their members.

"Now we have an actual decontamination process in which equipment and the firefighters will go through after vehicle fires, or grass or structure fires and things like that." He adds "That's all a big effort in eliminating any of those cancer-causing chemicals and products that we're exposed to on those types of calls."

The goal of the decontamination washers and showers are located right off of the apparatus bay, so after a call, the members can take their gear and wash it, then carry on to wash in special decontamination shower rooms before rejoining the living areas.

This will help keep dangerous substances from making their way home on firefighters' skin or clothes which could have a dangerous impact on their families.

Also in the building was an addition of a backup emergency operations centre, a boardroom, and a gym.

"Fitness is really important for firefighters and in our old space, we just kind of had an area on the floor with the trucks where we could fit a treadmill and some equipment. Now we have a formal gym that we can use while on shift."

Not all luxuries were publically funded though, says Zebedee.

"The guys and girls actually put some of their own funds in through their association to help outfit the gym with all the equipment that they need, and things like the kitchen table and chairs"

He says those things make it more homelike and give firefighters somewhere to decompress and team build after attending a bad call.

Having all amenities on one floor also makes a marked difference in reducing response times, as firefighters don't have come across the building, downstairs, and into the apparatus bay.