Predator Ridge fire hall to be ready by October

By Wayne Emde Special to The Daily Courier

Taking part in the sod-turning ceremony to mark 

the beginning of construction of a fire hall at

 Predator Ridge are from left:  fire Chief Keith Green,

 general contractor Pete Pasechnik, acting Vernon Mayor

 Juliette Cunningham and Wesbild Vice President Bard Pelletier

Wayne Emde Photo

Predator Ridge will soon have its own fire hall. Juliette Cunningham, acting mayor of Vernon, turned over a piece of sod Monday to mark the beginning of construction of the new fire hall, expected to be completed in October. In 2011, Vernon council approved $60,000 to design a two-bay fire station tat Predator Ridge Golf Resort. Once the design was completed and approved, $600,000 was approved by council for construction of the fire station. A lease deal has also been worked out. Fire Chief Keith Green said with a current population just shy of 600, and zoned for 2,000, a firehall at Predator Ridge would relieve concerns of residents. “It will also provide for quick access to the Commonage, Sparkling Hill and Sunset properties.” Cunningham added the fire hall kept the city’s commitment to staff the Okanagan Landing Fire Hall and the new hall with paid on-call volunteers. Jack Blair, deputy operations chief, said four of the volunteers already live at Predator Ridge. Brad Pelletier, Okanagan vice president of Wesbild, said that the hall would be one of the key amenities at Predator Ridge and he had wanted it located in a highly visible location near the entrance to the site.The hall has been designed to fit in with the general architectural theme of Predator Ridge. It will be 4,300 square feet with room for two bays, one for a fire truck and one for a pumper. The Vernon fire department currently has 34 career staff and 40 paid-per-call firefighters. VFRS responds to approximately 3,000 emergency calls per year.