SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Yellowknife fire hall will get a $650,000 expansion this year, giving firefighters a proper dorm and gym, among other things.

Senior firefighter Deiter Andre does up his boots in the fire hall dorm. Soon the hall will get a $650,000 expansion that will, among other things, give firefighters more room to rest while they wait for a call. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

Fire Chief Darcy Hernblad said the expansion is "much needed" because the hall's apparatus bay, where the fire trucks and emergency vehicles are kept, is currently being used as a workout room and as a place to store bunker gear.

"Things that we shouldn't be having in our apparatus bay are currently there because we've got nowhere else to put them," he said.

There are 24 full-time firefighters, 22 paid on-call firefighters and four administrative staff members using the hall, which Hernblad refers to as their "second home."

The current dorm room, which is located next to the kitchen and coffee room, has four small bunk beds and "is the same size as a bedroom that someone would have in their home."

"The current dorm that they have is just way too small; they're crammed in there like sardines," Hernblad said.

"So there are four bunk beds in this tiny little room, and when they get calls in the middle of the night they're jumping off these top bunks. It's very inducive to creating injuries."

The dorm isn't the only issue that will be addressed.

The firefighters, who need to be in top shape, will get a new space to work out, moving them out of the apparatus bay where they are faced with exhaust from the fire trucks.

The expansion will be two storeys. The gym will be upstairs, along with a storage area, and downstairs will be the new dorm room, which will have direct access to the apparatus bay.

Moving the dorm will also allow for a larger coffee room and kitchen space.

Hernblad said as shifts cross, for example, at 8 a.m. when six firefighters are going home and six are coming in, with administrative staff, the kitchen can have as many as 15 people in it.

"We're really excited and I can't overemphasize how much the firefighters really deserve this," Hernblad said. "We've always considered the fire hall their second home and it just makes for better morale when their second home is more accommodating and more comfortable."

The city has advertised a request for proposals for design and engineering services for the expansion.

The deadline is Feb. 4.

Hernblad said he hopes work will begin in the early spring.

"The sooner the better," he said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.