Hantsport firefighters remain optimistic they will have a new station to call home by the fall of 2021.

But getting that facility built has been rife with challenges. The latest is a delay in awarding the design tender.

That was set to be awarded in July but was postponed as West Hants Regional Municipality councillors expressed concerns over site selection and unknown costs.

As such, a geotechnical survey was completed in August and a hazard assessment is currently underway.

“This is something that would have all been done, it’s just being done earlier than what we anticipated so it’s caused a bit of a delay in the project moving forward,” said deputy fire chief Paul Maynard in a phone interview.

He said as long as the project progresses, the volunteer firefighters will be happy. The station has needed a replacement for a number of years, with health and safety concerns taking the spotlight in 2018 when they began actively lobbying the municipal government.

The new fire hall will have five bays, with at least one double bay, and there will be adequate room for equipment.

“Basically, enough to fit our current needs and have a little bit of room for expansion in the future,” said Maynard.

The existing station has five bays, but one is significantly smaller and only houses a pickup truck. When mutual aid resources are called upon to provide standby coverage, only specific vehicles can be brought to Hantsport because many current models won’t fit in the bays.

“The other thing we have to be cognizant of is the long-term replacement plan for apparatus, which calls for a quint in Hantsport. We have to ensure that one of the bays is big enough to house a quint,” said Maynard.

According to a comprehensive regional fire services study produced last fall, Hantsport is slated to get an aerial in 2023.

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