AUGUST 2026 “I’ve got ocean on one side of me, mountains on the other side,” Bruce says. “I’m an outdoors person – I like hunting, I like fishing. Everything I want to do is here within a 15-to-20-minute drive from my house. It’s probably the most beautiful place in the world to live. Why would anybody ever want to leave?” As previously mentioned, Bruce’s view has become more and more widespread in recent years, and the district’s population has grown substantially as a result. That growth has brought new demands on fire services across the region. New multi-storey buildings have required the recent purchase of a ladder truck. Climate change and the increasing frequency of wildfires have pushed the organization to evolve its equipment and summer response capabilities. And through it all, the fire halls themselves – some dating back decades – have struggled to keep pace. “As the community grows and need for more equipment grows, you need the space to store it,” Bruce explains. “If you want to have new, updated equipment, you need fire halls that can accomodate that – and that’s why we’re where we are now.” The CVRD is currently managing two significant fire hall construction projects simultaneously – a new facility in Union Bay and a new station on Mount Washington. Both represent long-overdue investments in community safety, and Bruce is at the centre of both.
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