The fire hall in downtown Nanaimo and a totem pole welcoming people onto station grounds have been officially unveiled.
The City of Nanaimo’s Fire Station No. 1 has been operational since July 2022, but an opening ceremony was held Wednesday, June 21 at the 666 Fitzwilliam St. site. The event featured the unveiling of a welcoming pole carved from red cedar by Snuneymuxw First Nation artist Noel Brown. The artist said elders chose which animals went on the pole, which was meant to be representative of firefighters’ efforts.
“It starts at the bottom, with an eagle, that carries our prayers up to the Creator,” Brown said, describing his work. “Above that is a bear, that gives us strength and courage, like the [firefighters] have … above that is the box of treasures, that we hold the most cherished things in our life and that’s what they do, they hold us in the treasure box and take care of us and above that is a wolf. They’re a clan and family and they all stay together and take care of us.”
Previously, Nanaimo Fire Rescue Chief Tim Doyle said the department would move in, in phases, and that transition is now complete.
“We are fully moved into the station,” he said. “All our divisions, all our fire prevention, our command staff, our firefighters are moved in, we have our equipment here and we’ve been responding since last year out of this station.”
.@cityofnanaimo, @Snuneymuxw on hand at totem raising, unveiling of new fire hall in #Nanaimo. pic.twitter.com/FF56Ma15fE
— Karl Yu (@KarlYuBulletin) June 21, 2023
In addition, the three-storey, 23,0000-square-foot station will serve as a centre of operations in the event of a major emergency. A piece of the World Trade Centre from the 9/11 attacks, once located at the front of the old station, has been relocated to another part of the site.
The fire chief said he thinks the fire station is an apt place for the welcome pole.
“When our firefighters go out to emergencies and come back, this whole area, the welcome pole, is bringing them back to their area of refuge to get ready for their next emergency for the communities,” said Doyle. “It’s very meaningful for us and as Noel mentioned, is meant to protect us and the community.”
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