Image Credit: Contributed
December 10, 2013 - 11:49 AM
A new boathouse on Okanagan Lake is open and in service for the North Westside Fire Rescue department.
The new waterfront building, dock and marine lift is easily accessible in the southern portion of Killiney Beach Community Park, just off Hodges Road.
The facility houses the department’s 8.4-metre Marine Mobile Water Supply and Fireboat.
Construction of the boathouse and dock was completed earlier this fall by Burton Marine and Pile Driving Incorporated, after a public Request for Proposal process. The contract includes a full two year warranty on all materials and labour used to build the structures.
Fire Services Manager Dan Wildeman says “This fully enclosed boathouse on Okanagan Lake required extensive environmental approvals from the Provincial Government and complies with all federal, provincial and local regulations. It was designed and built at a total cost of $78,000. It includes an all-electric boat lift and gasoline powered generator that provides power for interior lighting and an electric roll-up garage door with a manual override.”
North Westside Fire Chief Doug Gardiner adds, “This facility means our community’s fireboat and Marine Mobile Water Supply will be easily accessible for trained members of our department in the event it’s dispatched for firefighting and protection along the waterfront, as a water supply or for marine rescue.”
In dedicating the boathouse which is designated Station 103, members of the North Westside Firefighter Society recognized the memory of Regan Toker, a department member who lost his life in a West Kelowna workplace accident in 2011.
Wildeman says, “The Society members are an integral part of their community and are dedicated to helping their neighbours with medical first response, fire prevention and fire protection services. The Regional District thanks the Society for its generous contribution of $20,100 which helped in part to construct and equip the new boathouse.”
News from © iNFOnews, 2013