Thursday November 13, 2025 | METCHOSIN, BC [Posted 8:43 am | Updated 9:06 am]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The building is built on non-interlocking concrete blocks that would easily collapse in an earthquake. For years the rats and mold have been a scourge.
That’s the quick structural and habitation profile of an old administrative building used as the Metchosin Fire Hall – by the fire chief and her crew; that building was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. The building was deemed unacceptable in 1987 and was due to be rebuilt (almost 40 years ago).
The apparatus bay was built in 1993 and is seismically not to code or at post-disaster standard. And now the roof is leaking there too!
Who is surprised that politics and finances are getting in the way of modernizing what the Metchosin population of about 5,000 people claims is their number one municipal concern, i.e. fire safety. Not just structure fires but wildland as well.
This is a rural community and there is agreement by all that’s the way it should be. No housing densification desired here; Metchosin is home to a shared community desire that land remain open and untouched as part of supporting natural habitats and biodiversity.
The primary economic driver is agriculture — big land, with farms large and small. In a forested seaside setting the biggest potential safety hazard is considered to be structural damage or wildfire, in addition of course being the eventuality of seismic (‘the big one’ is on everyone’s calendar in coastal British Columbia).
Yes there has been an application for grant funding — it would be federal and provincial dollars administered through the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) — in the range of $7 million.
That is apparently one-third of what’s needed to do the full rebuild of not just the firehall with modernized spaces (like keeping contaminated gear separate from cleaned gear) but with the foresight of creating better outdoor training areas.
Another third of the funding — about $7 million could be drawn from reserves and possibly the Community Building Fund, and the last third of the required funding from a loan that has approval for Capital Regional District (CRD) backing.
There is a firehall project steering committee, formed in 2022. They meet monthly. They’ve recently had a productive meeting with Mayor and Council, and last night at the Metchosin Fire Hall community open house there was talk of another such meeting coming up.
There are four councillors in this decision, led by the Mayor. Mayor Marie-Térèse Little would like to see some work start on the project with current funding. Some of the councillors believe the project should be essentially on hold until the grant funding outcome is known (but that’s 10 months from now, in August 2026).
Some members of council even believe that the $21 million price tag (developed by the District’s in-house financial team based on information by a Burnaby-based consulting team) is too much. | See Metchosin Fire Hall Project webpage
The District of Metchosin has been saving up for this project for years, since 2012 in fact. They have known for a long time the condition of the fire hall and the priorities for their community. The previous long-time Metchosin Mayor, John Ranns, ran a tight-purse ship. After former Metchosin councillor Little was elected Mayor in 2022 she’s been trying to move several projects forward, including the firehall.
The November 12 fire hall four-hour open house was well-attended, hosted at the firehall by Chief Stephanie Dunlop, Mayor and staff. There were information display boards, a fire hall tour, and refreshments.
Whether Metchosin council decides to move forward to work on firehall upgrade starting soon is up to council now.
The Mayor hopes for some progress in 2026, well-ahead of the grant that all agree would be helpful. One councillor believes there isn’t much hope for the grant money as the application doesn’t fit within what is apparently the criteria for a ‘large project’. Well, for Metchosin it’s large.
Sit and wait or get started with some parts of the overall project? The community will watch this one closely at future council meetings.
Mayor and Council:
Since the October 2022 election, Metchosin has been led by Mayor Marie-Térèse Little (who previously served as a District of Metchosin councillor during 2018-2022).
Little is now in her third term as vice-chair of the Capital Regional District where she also sits on the CRD’s Hospital Board and Housing Board as well as the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.
The four-member District of Metchosin council is comprised of Shelly Donaldson (elected 2022), Sharie Epp (elected 2018 and 2022), Steve Gray (elected 2022) and Jay Shukin (elected 2022).
===== RELATED:
- CRD holds steady for 2026 with same chair & vice-chair (November 12, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: METCHOSIN | EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | BC MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2026