St Louis Mayor Mark Caron, Fire Chief James Brake and R.M. of St Louis Reeve Emile Boutin participate in the official sod turning ceremony. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Emergency response

State of the art fire hall coming to Village of St. Louis

May 7, 2025 | 5:00 PM

Noting numerous meetings and discussions that have occurred over the past eight years, the Mayor of St. Louis said a state-of-the-art fire hall is the result of a partnership between the Village and the Rural Municipality.

Mark Caron made the comment during Wednesday’s sod turning ceremony.

“We came together for a common goal,” he said.

Actual construction of the new building is expected to start by the end of the month, and Caron noted his hope to see it completed by late Fall. The fire hall, which is expected to 60 feet by 100 feet, will include four overhead doors, meeting rooms, and a water line which will make it much easier for the crew to fill up the trucks.

Caron also hinted there will be room for future expansion.

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“The one thing I’m proud of is that this will be a facility for decades to come. Not just for our children, but their children’s children too, like our grandchildren and everybody will be taking care of the facility. They’ll be the future firefighters, and we built it for them too,” he said.

Mark Caron and Emile Boutin exchange a handshake. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

The total cost of the project is about $800,000 and is being paid for by the partners involved. Caron noted that while attempts were made to access provincial and federal grants, they were unsuccessful.

“We do have some donations from different organizations, which is great, you know, just to offset.”

R.M. of St Louis Reeve Emile Boutin told the crowd that gathered at the fire hall represents more than bricks and mortar and provides their fire department with the best tools.

“Our poor firefighters have been dealing with substandard storage facilities and home for their products. So this is going to give them a good place to work and a state of the art facility for their storage and maintenance of their equipment and also for training,” he said.

The St. Louis Volunteer Fire Dept. has 21 members and looks after an area that stretches from the R.M. of Prince Albert to Birch Hills. Fire Chief James Brake said It’s very humbling and exciting to see shovels hit the ground.

“It’s a long time coming. I’ve been in the department for 18 years and Chief for 12, and we have a dedicated group of individuals that are deserving of having a good home,” he said.

Volunteer members, that include the former Wakaw Fire Chief, look on. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Brake noted that they currently they have four vehicles spread out over three different locations. He explained over the past 10 years, the department has largely grown from a defensive operation to a full-service operation, and other than specialties like Coldwater Rescue or hazmat, the crew is trained for car accidents and auto extrication and interior rescue.

“So we’ve tried to push the bar up high, and like I’ve said from the beginning, we’ll do the best with what we have. To have this is just a progression of what our training has brought us to, in my opinion.”

Representatives from the Village, RM and Volunteer Fire Dept. stand together. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social