New Sustainable Fire Department Headquarters and Training Center

The City of Welland will undertake a feasibility study to build a new, energy-efficient fire department headquarters on a redeveloped brownfield site that was formerly home to a large steel manufacturer. The new fire station will replace three existing stations in Welland, which will reduce building operating costs as well as fuel usage from firetrucks travelling between the three stations. The study will create a business case for the new building, taking energy efficiency and return on investment into consideration. Energy modelling will demonstrate the effects of various energy-conservation measures on the building’s overall energy consumption, energy costs, thermal energy demand index and carbon footprint. The project’s environmental benefits include the redevelopment of 8.8 acres of brownfield land, targeted energy consumption at 75% below the National Energy Building Code, and various innovative fuel- and water-saving measures. The new firehall will be suitable for enhanced training opportunities for local firefighters and eligible to qualify as a Regional Testing and Training Centre. This presents an opportunity to improve public safety across the Niagara region. This initiative is supported by the municipality’s corporate five-year plan and its target of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and energy by an average of 2.5% per year. The study is in response to a facilities needs assessment completed in 2013. The City of Welland also received grant funding from the Green Municipal Fund in 2018 to study the brownfield portion of the project (GMF 15816). Innovative aspect(s): The initiative presents an innovative level of cumulative environmental outcomes, including energy efficiency, brownfield re-use, water recycling, waste reduction and fleet optimization. The team will use leading-edge project management and construction techniques, including LEAN and Kaisen methods, and Building Information Modelling. Replicability: The results from this study will be widely replicable given the number of aging fire stations in need of renewal and reconstruction in municipalities across Canada. (Project description from original funding application)