Corner Brook -
The City of Corner Brook is taking steps to establish better fire protection in the Watson's Pond Industrial Park area.
The lack of a fire protection system in the area on the outskirts of Corner Brook has been a long-standing cause of concern for Fire Chief Neville Wheaton and the Corner Brook Fire Department.
"When I came here, one of the things that bothered me, given the type of occupancy out there with warehouses and heavy industrial businesses at Watson's Pond, was there was no fixed fire protection system - no hydrants, no water mains and that sort of thing," said Wheaton.
Back in November 2004, there was a fire which heavily damaged a garage located on the Clyde Way Trucking property at the industrial park. To fight that fire, the Corner Brook Fire Department had to draft water from a small pond which happened to be located on the property.
Since then, the trucking company has invested its own resources into a dry hydrant, which is linked to that same small pond in the event of another emergency. While that dry hydrant could also service other properties in the area if required, a new system being installed by the City of Corner Brook will put the fire chief even more at ease.
The city recently issued tenders for an engineering design for the project, which will feature the construction of a new water line from Watson's Pond itself and include a water intake, pump house and fire pump system.
"This will definitely be an improvement in the service out there," said Wheaton, adding the water being supplied will not be potable.
The city has secured federal funding under the Build Canada Fund for the project, but Wheaton could not comment on what the project is expected to cost since firms still have until Thursday to submit tender proposals.
