The original fire hall was constructed in 1964 with an addition in 1987. There have been minor renovations that have only revised and updated the facility without having a major impact on the original design. Due to the need to serve the town and county, a new fire hall was required to house new and larger equipment.
During the schematic design phase, the program requirements significantly increased and the budget was adjusted. The fire hall was to remain fully operational during the construction of the new addition and the renovation of the existing building - meaning that the new fire hall was constructed together with the two-storey link, and once complete the existing fire hall was renovated.
During the design phase of the project, the whole design team visited Lethbridge Fire Hall #1 to become familiar with the strategies and systems used in the building design. This site visit proved invaluable to understand the key issues and driving forces behind the design of the building.
The procurement process for this project was a public bid process, and was won by Southwest Design and Construction Ltd. The project comprises two phases - first the new fire hall build, followed by the renovation of the existing building to form the administration and training components of the project.
