The RM of La Broquerie is trying to decide whether or not to relocate their fire hall.

According to Reeve Lewis Weiss, the La Broquerie Fire Department has requested that their hall be moved from its current home near the Steinbach border to a location in between Marchand and La Broquerie along Provincial Road 210. To Weiss, this move makes sense.

“This would bring the people of Marchand within 8 miles of the hall,” he explains, “and, the way I understand it, if you are within that 8-mile limit you get a discount on your house insurance.”

A location between the two largest communities in the RM would give firefighters quicker access to most scene calls and therefore benefit the most possible residents.

The reason the hall was first built on the outskirts of La Broquerie was not because of its location, admits Weiss, but because it happened to be the site of an existing machine shop that was large enough to house firetrucks. Now, with the fire department getting a new truck this year, Weiss notes they will no longer have enough room in their current facilities.

“We know we have to do something,” he states. “We will either build a new hall or build an addition.”

At this point, he says, the decision is entirely up to Council.