A large crowd turned out on Sat., July 25 for the grand opening of the new South Stormont Fire and Rescue Station Two in Ingleside. Friends, family, dignitaries and invited guests gathered to celebrate and tour the new facility at the corner of Farran Drive and 45th Parallel Drive. In celebration of a major addition to the Townships assets, Members of the South Stormont Fire and Emergency Services gathered with members of council for a photo commemorating the event. Tinkess Photo

INGLESIDE – The size of the celebration is often in proportion to the amount of time and effort required to get to that point. Judging by the size of the crowd at the grand opening of the South Stormont Fire and Rescue facility in Ingleside on Sat., July 25, that would seem about right.

Friends, family, dignitaries and invited guests gathered at 11:00 a.m. at the corner of Farran Drive and 45th Parallel Drive to take advantage of the opportunity to get an up-close look at the new Station Two.

South Stormont Council had approved the tender to build the new Station 2 Fire Hall in Ingleside during their regular council meeting on April 9, 2025. The tender was eventually awarded to Robert J. Bourgon Construction for a value of $4,294,263. The Township received nine compliant bids for the Station 2 construction.

The new Station 2 is a 7,000 sq. ft. facility that will house the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief/Training Officer and Fire Prevention Officer. The facility was modelled after the St. Andrews West Fire Hall (Station 4), and will have three truck bays, four offices, a communications room, a training room and kitchen. There are plans to upgrade the training facility in the future to allow for additional in-house training and certification efforts for the department.

Prior to the ribbon cutting, Fire Chief Mo Lamer and each of the members of the current council addressed the audience, stressing the effort that had gone into reaching this point and acknowledging how money had been “put away” to allow this project to become a reality.

“We worked together and came up with a solution that we’re going to put, start putting money in reserves for this beautiful, magnificent building. And, you know, I have to say, Moe, my good friend, Fire Chief, his dedication, his passion, his leadership, is second to none. As a fire chief, as a former police officer, firefighter. I want to say thank you for all your dedication. I was talking to one of the firefighters earlier today, and they said that, you will hear something very special, that they were so blessed to have you. And I think it’s a pleasure, and whoever, you know, that council that hired you, they did a good job.

“I’d also like to first give a special thanks to all of the people that made this happen. I mean, are the architects, the builders, people that were involved in, making this building where it is today. And I look over there to my left, and I see Ingleside Fire Station up there in the wall. I think Mo was instrumental, getting that taken down from the older building, and putting it up here just as a memory of the great building that we had previously that served a great purpose. It served its purpose, and, you know, we decided, let’s do this. Let’s put the money aside, and let’s get Ingleside a great fire department. So, it’s going to safety of the community and for the frontline people.”

With the speeches concluded and the ribbon cut, it was time for the dedicated firefighters who now have a building that suits their needs to show it off to the community. There were tours of the building and the equipment, there were baked goods, there was a barbecue, and of course there were activities for the children in attendance, because beyond teaching fire safety, you can never know who will be the next generation that are called to serve.

It takes a special person to be a firefighter, to run towards danger when others are running away, but it also takes a degree of bravery to decide that you are going to build for a future of growth and development and accept the costs that always accompany that choice.

It’s been a very good summer, a good year for South Stormont and the future looks bright. The future welcomes those who are prepared to embrace it, and South Stormont, with this capital investment have taken a large step in their preparation.