It has been 43 years since what was then called “the new Cochrane Fire Hall” opened on Fifth St., between James Bay Rd. and Second Ave. We’re going to look back in our weekly feature on Cochrane history.
Public library archivist Ardis Proulx-Chedore tells us that the first fire hall was on Sixth Avenue.
“Construction started in 1911 and the hall opened in 1912,” she says. “At that time, firefighters ran down the street with hoses on pulleys. Then they used a horse-drawn fire wagon. The first truck came in 1929.”
Now she moves us ahead 67 years, to a September day.
“The one in use today on Fifth St. was officially opened in 1979. Town councillor Jacques Ladoucedur, who was chairman of the fire and light committee, used a fire axe to cut a length of hose, standing in for the traditional ribbon cutting. The new hall was worth $106,000.”
The bell outside the fire hall was in a tower on the original location on Sixth Avenue.
Anything related to Cochrane history can be found in the archives at the public library.
