É«É«À²

“Burn survivors are our business and this is a natural fit,” said Michael Smith, president of theÌýÉ«É«À² Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, alongside local councillor Josh Matlow at city hall Monday, ahead of a council committee adopting the on what it would take to transform the building.

“The biggest part of it is that the families would be able to experience what they’re going through with other families in the same situation.”Ìý

É«É«À² has the largest burn centre in Canada at Sunnybrook, a state-of-the-art facility that treats hundreds of patients annually, including some travelling from across Ontario to get treated. The purpose of the centre would be so patients, which might include local firefighters, can focus on recovery and being with immediate family rather than worrying about the logistics of their stay.

The program, similar to , would be run byÌýthe charitable arm of the local firefighters’ association, which funds other charities helping burn survivors.

“We’re going to have psychologists, sociologists available to the families and that will be at the cost of our charitable foundation,” Smith said. “We will keep the building up and running.”

The heritage fire station at Forest Hill was built in 1932, and while it has undergone renovations since, deterioration over the years means it needs a lot of refurbishment, cleaning and upgrades.

“It’s a beautiful building,” said Matlow, who asked staff in December to report back on converting the firehall. “It became somewhat derelict ... We want to bring it back to life.”

According to the staff report, the city has $2 million in its capital budget which could be used for more immediate repairs to the building.

However, the city needs to find another roughly $12 million in capital work to upgrade and outfit the building to be able to run the program.

Matlow said more than $1 million of that could come from the city’s Section 37 funds,Ìýwhich is the money É«É«À² collects from developers to build public amenities like childcare centres and parks, in exchange for developers increasing the density of their projects beyond existing zoning regulations.Ìý

The remaining $11 million could be covered by various sources, includingÌýpartnerships with charitable associations, “and hopefully, if we’re successful, the provincial and federal governments,” Matlow said.

Smith said the firefighters’ charityÌýwould secureÌýas much as it can through donations and fundraising.

There would also be a museum in the building’s lobby to display Fire Station 135’s heritage.

It’s too early for details on what operating expenses might look like, but Smith said his association’s charity would cover them.ÌýVancouver’s facility — which also houses eight suites and is run by a charity — has an operating cost of several hundred thousand dollars a year.

The negotiated lease will need full council approval, though there is no clear timeline when that might happen.

Neither hospital made anyone available for comment on Monday.

According to the staff report, the firehall has “limited potential” for other uses like housing because of heritage restrictions, how close it is to transit infrastructure, the small lot size and building separation requirements.Ìý

Editor’s note — July 15, 2025

This article has been updated.