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Brian Heaman attended the April 28 Wallace-Woodworth council meeting to ask about the municipality’s support for the fire hall addition project in Virden.

Heaman said, “I just wondered why we're not contributing to the firehall addition in Virden because we've been collecting since 2015 for that exact thing.”

Reeve Clayton Canart stated that discussions between the Town of Virden and Wallace-Woodworth, regarding construction or renovation options for the Station 1 firehall, began years ago. He said initial plans were considered too costly which led to delays and exploration of other alternatives.

These included possible relocation to a larger site, which was rejected as Virden preferred to keep the hall within town boundaries. Renovation designs were also developed, with input from firefighters and board members, and both councils worked to develop reliable cost estimates.

It was January, 2026 when the Town of Virden announced a $1.5M grant toward their $3M plan for an addition and renovation to Wallace District Fire Department hall.

The plan included a 65-foot by 80-foot addition onto the rear of the existing fire hall to house the fire trucks. The existing building will undergo renovations that would include an area for firefighters’ equipment.

Wallace District Fire Department (Station 1) is located at 330 - 11th Ave. S., within Virden where it serves as the primary emergency service hub for the town and surrounding RM of Wallace-Woodworth.

Station 2 is located in Elkhorn providing coverage for Elkhorn and western parts of the RM of Wallace-Woodworth. The two fire halls work together as needed.

Only last year, Station 1 and Station 2 each got their own fire chief.

Cory Nixon, formerly the deputy chief of WDFD, moved into the position of Virden’s Station 1 fire chief while Aaron Lewis became fire chief for Elkhorn’s Station 2.

Canart explained that while the Town of Virden was ready to proceed with a renovation, the municipality was not comfortable moving forward because of uncertainty about cost estimates.

Canart noted that while renovation was not their preferred approach, they agreed to help the Town move ahead, and provided a letter of support for a grant application.

As part of that understanding, funding for capital infrastructure was split, making Virden responsible for Station 1 while Wallace-Woodworth assumed responsibility for Station 2. The existing fire agreement and collaboration remained unchanged.

Heaman said, “We’ve got like $1.12 million in a fund for a fire hall and we've got a fire hall addition happening and we're not helping with it.”

Canart replied, “We each decided we would create our own reserve account so Virden created their own and Wallace-Woodworth created their own so that if the fire hall didn't go through... we would still have that money to be able to use for our own purposes.”

He added, “That money is not allocated to have to go to a hall or a renovation or a building. We may use that money to purchase a new truck or to buy whatever we may need for an apparatus. It was originally designed around the need for a hall renovation and upgrade, but it wasn't defined that that's what it had to be spent on.”

In the early stages of the process concerns were raised that the current fire hall site lacked sufficient room for future expansion, particularly given the increasing size of firefighting apparatus and anticipated growth.

Canart emphasized that the delay was not due to unwillingness to contribute, but rather concerns about financial accuracy, developing clear plans and ensuring a responsible decision.