Welland Fire hosts open house for new $14M fire station

Welland Fire and Emergency Services hosted an open house on Saturday, welcoming the public to come tour their new fire station.

The new Station 1 is located at 400 East Main St. and cost nearly 14 million dollars to build.

The headquarters features front and rear bay doors, a training tower, as well as a storm retention pond at the back.

The pond is modeled around the canal and Welland River and will provide a new environment for training exercises.

Firefighters moved into the new station in early September but this past weekend was the first chance for members of the community to view and tour the facility.

READ MORE: Firefighters battle blaze inside a barn in Welland for two hours on Friday

The open house event featured a fire-hose cutting in place of a ribbon cutting with crews using the Jaws of Life to make the snip.

“What an incredible day to share with the community,” Fire chief Adam Eckhart said on Twitter. “(I’m) very excited and grateful to showcase our new headquarters at the official hose cutting.”

Firefighters also showcased their brand new Pierce 110′ aerial fire truck to the public.

The 2022 truck cost almost 1.6 million dollars and will help reduce the response time of crews in Welland.

The rain can’t dampen the mood at WFES Headquarters today. We’re too excited about the arrival of our new Pierce 110′ aerial truck.

Once again, we’d like to thank Mayor Campion and City Council for this incredibly important investment in fire safety for the citizens of @Welland pic.twitter.com/14Fkxilv2z

— WellandFire (@WellandFire) October 13, 2022