Normanton’s brand new fire station will become operational this week (w/c 30 January).
The new fire station, built by Caddick Construction, has been completed three months ahead of schedule. It has been built on the site of the old station, which was demolished after more than 50 years of service.
A nearby house has also been redeveloped as part of the project and converted into five bedsits, which will be used as sleeping accommodation for firefighters on the day crewing/close call shift system.
The new steel-framed building is larger than the old one and provides two appliance bays and accommodation for the day time crew including welfare and cleaning facilities, a gym, workshop, offices, training and meeting rooms. A steel training tower has also been built so crews are able to train for rescues at height.
The station has been built to be environmentally friendly, boasting a grey rainwater harvesting and re-use system which will collect rainwater for use in flushing toilets, and there is a surface water collection and storage system to assist with fire training procedures. Roof mounted solar panels pre-heat the domestic hot water supply.
Wakefield district commander Martin Langan said: “The new station is a vast improvement on the old building, which has served Normanton well for half a century. The modern facilities will provide a much improved environment for firefighters to train and the nearby accommodation block will mean firefighters are ideally placed to respond quickly to emergencies.”
An official opening ceremony is currently being planned for April.
