Construction begins on new fire station in southeast Regina

Ground was broken on Fire Station No. 8 on Friday, and the city’s fire chief says the new station will help reduce response times in southeast Regina.

Fire Station No. 8 is located at 5051 E. Primrose Green Drive at Chuka Boulevard. The “modern, fully equipped facility” is set to open early in 2027.

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“The southeast portion of the city has expanded significantly over the past 25 years,” fire chief Layne Jackson said in a statement.

“This new fire station will improve response times, provide critical community amenities and strengthen safety for residents in the area.”

Mayor Chad Bachynski celebrated the start of the construction project.

“This new fire station is a strategic investment for our community, not just for emergency response, but also the valuable public safety work that Regina Fire does in fire prevention and public education,” the mayor said in a statement.

The fire hall is meant to do more than simply house firefighters and their equipment. The city said the new station is designed to serve as a community hub. The building will feature a multi-purpose space for community events, a large recycling bin that residents can use, and a publicly accessible washroom.

“The community space and public washroom are needed amenities in this young and growing neighbourhood,” said Diana Burton, Regina’s director of recreation and cultural services.

“We are excited about how the community space will support the surrounding community.”

A design render showing plans for the new fire station, though the city said the final construction may differ slightly. (City of Regina/submitted)

New fire station addresses community’s ‘natural growth’

“As our communities grow, we have to have the services to keep up, and that includes our fire response to make sure when there’s a need, we can get there in time to keep people protected,” Bachynski told reporters on Friday.

“This is a natural growth of our community and a natural need in our community.”

He said the city will continue to rely on data to assess the growth of each area, which it will use to determine when and where to build new stations.

Fire Chief Layne Jackson said Station No. 8 is an area that has a few hotspots for fire incidents and receives some frequent calls for service. The area is currently covered by Station No. 5 located on E. Arens Road.

“The travel times from that station to here are quite significant now. We know fires will start small, but if we don’t intervene, they grow quite large, so once this station comes online, we’re going to redesign our fire station districts,” Jackson said.

“It’s going to take over this further southeast portion, up into the Creeks, and then it’s going to work all the way down to where Costco and that new development is.”

Jackson said No. 8 will be a three-bay station staffed with a four-person crew.

As a community hub, the fire chief said the station will host lots of tours and community outreach events. It will also aid in Regina Fire’s fire prevention activities.