Emergency services move to new building out of town now slated for 2025

The long awaited move will have to wait awhile longer. 

The move for many of the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority’s operations to their new building just outside of town limits is now targeted for spring to summer 2025.

Former Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney told Connect in January 2024 that following the completion of renovations, the hope was to begin moving this summer, but that has been pushed back.

Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau gave an update on The Morning After on Wednesday about the project’s status, with Station 5 Fire, Station 1 Administration, the Ambulance Hall, and 911 dispatch all to move to the new location.

“A few hiccups there, but I can assure you that construction continues to happen. It’s extremely important that we get it right, because we have 911 going in there, they’re going to be the first move,” said Brosseau. 

“There are many regulations that we have to follow when we have a 911, center right, the walls need to be soundproof and fireproof, and the technology is the biggest piece. We kind of have had a few setbacks there, but we continue to work on that, looking to have a move in the spring or early summer.”

Three tenders went out for the majority of the work at the former Kopala building, which totaled between $6.5-7 million.

The Next Generation 911 capabilities were a big need for additional space in the first place. Federally mandated, this will accomodate additional information to passed along to 911 dispatchers.

For example, pictures and videos, could be sent from the scene of a collision to the authorities, to better accommodate the emergency response required.

“We wanted to bring all these departments together under one roof is what prompted the move. We’re really lucky to have a 911 center in our municipality. Not a lot of municipalities do, they contract it out. So us being able to build it and have a state-of-the-art 911 centre, we’re going to create jobs, and we’re also going to be able to take on some of those contracts from other municipalities, hence being able to grow that part of the business,” said Brosseau. 

Changes at BRFA

Another aspect to the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority has been the change in leadership.

Dan Heney took a job at the Town of Bonnyville this summer, putting Deputy Fire Chief Alicia Krawchuk in interim control. Brosseau said a restructuring of the top-end administration is underway, as they’ve hired someone to take on more of a chief administration role.

It’s been a transition period.

“She’s done an amazing job at leading the ship, per se, over the summer. It’s not an easy job to do…we are going through a period of transition. I’m happy to report we have filled the position.

“The organization is growing drastically. We really feel that we can have a niche industry here in the community, and that’s BRFA leading it. So we’ve hired a new we’re going to call them a CAO. Changing the organization is going to change a little bit of the structure, not too much, but in a way that it’s going to help us grow.”

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