Kelowna

A local volunteer emergency response team has a new place to dock their EMR vehicle, thanks to the donations of local groups.

Photo: Contributed

The Salvation Army's emergency response vehicle sitting in its new home Tuesday.

The Salvation Army officially opened its new garage on Rutland Road, which will house the charity’s emergency response vehicle, a portable kitchen, and increase response times.

“This new heated storage facility will make response times much quicker as well as ensure that proper maintenance and cleanliness standards are done in a timely and efficient manner,” the Salvation Army said in a statement Tuesday.

On hand at the official unveiling Tuesday afternoon were Deputy Mayor Gail Given, Larry Holier of the Professional Fire Fighters Association, and Bruce Davies, executive director of the Central Okanagan Foundation.

The emergency response team responds to fires and large-scale community disasters. They most recently aided first responders in the Peachland forest fire effort earlier this month.

“The Salvation Army wishes to express special thanks to Gordon Wilson and TEAM Construction, who coordinated the construction.  It is through their example of generosity that many other trades donated significantly to this project.”

The Salvation Army says construction of the garage building has been made possible through generous donations from the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Kelowna Professional Firefighters Association, The Rotary Club of Kelowna, Okanagan Mission Rotary Club, Sunrise Rotary Club, Morningside Rotary club, the Felson Foundation, Woolridge Construction, and others.

The Kelowna Salvation Army emergency response team consists of 35 committed volunteers.

“We work in conjunction with emergency report services,” explains Major Ron Cartmell, officer in charge with the Kelowna Salvation Army.

“When there is a forest fire, we end up spending days there; we can just leave the truck and rotate supplies and personnel to keep it going.”