Shoddy construction at new Tantalus Fire Hall corrected: District

District of Squamish says it has corrected issues related to shoddy construction at the new Tantalus Fire Hall in Garibaldi Estates.

“An issue was noted with an initial concrete pour at the new Fire Hall No. 2 that was quickly corrected and has been verified to have had no impact on structural integrity,” District said.

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District wasn’t the only one that noted the issue. It had become a talking point for a lot of contractors and tradespeople in the community, says a local worker who took several pictures that document the clumsy work at the new firehall, a building you would expect to be the most well-built and strongest building in the community. The contractor, who didn’t want to be named as he works in the local construction industry, said the poor quality of construction had become a topic of jokes within the local construction community.

In a mea culpa of sorts, District communications manager, Christina Moore, admitted the deficiency occurred during the first concrete wall pour. The issue was immediately evident once forms had been removed, and the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Team worked to review the issue and agree upon a solution, she said.

“The deficiencies have now been repaired and the repairs have been reviewed by the project’s structural engineers and architect, ISL and Johnson Davidson Architecture, to ensure the building meets the code requirements and high structural standards of a post disaster facility,” she said. Moore said there is no additional cost to the District due to this issue, and the structural integrity of the building remains the same. The work has continued with no further issue, she added.

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The new Fire Hall No. 2 will serve as the second of the two fire halls for the Squamish Fire Rescue Service, and will consist of  three apparatus bays with administration office areas, four dorm rooms, washrooms, a training room, kitchen, and decontamination rooms for post-incident cleanup. According to the District, the new Fire Hall No. 2’s sustainability objective is to achieve net zero energy consumption while achieving specific energy targets.

The building is also designed to accommodate future housing needs, if required. Concrete construction is anticipated to be complete in early October, while finishes and the work on the remainder of the facility will extend into 2024.