Shovels turned

Turning sod on the new Consecon fire station are (L-R): Dan Bakker, Hillier fire district division six commander; Terry Shortt, Sophiasburgh councillor and council’s representative on the Master Fire Plan committee; Scott Manlow, fire chief; Mayor Peter Mertens; and Susan Turnbull, commissioner of Corporate Services and Finance.

The heavy equipment stopped momentarily for the official sod turning ceremony to mark the official start of construction for a new Consecon fire station. The station will replace firehalls currently used in Hillier and Consecon, both in poor and declining condition. The tender price of the new station is just under $1.3 million.

The new hall is located in the shadow of the Consecon water tower, on the corner of Highway 33 and County Road 1. It will have four bays, a training hall, office space and other amenities. The station is expected to be completed by the end of February 2015. As soon as the ceremony ended, diggers returned to work in order to meet that deadline.