A new combined police and fire station is coming to Waterdown.
Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe said the new facility will likely open sometime in 2026, at the southeast corner of Highway 6 and Parkside Drive.
“The new fire station will be staffed by 24/7, 365 [days a year] by full-time firefighters who will be operating an engine and ladder truck,” Cunliffe said in an email.
The new station will have full-time firefighters, while volunteer firefighters will continue to work from the existing station on Parkside Drive, he said.
He said the new site will service "Waterdown, Millgrove and Carlisle areas," and "will provide response support in the areas of Greensville and Freelton."
Flamborough councillor Ted McMeekin said the new station is the "single most important thing that can happen in our community." The station will have around 13 paramedics operating out of it, he said, servicing Dundas, Waterdown, Flamborough and Carlisle.
Combined station will cost around $28 million
The combined station currently has an approved budget of $28 million, which city strategic planner Robyn Ellis said includes the cost of the land at Highway 6 and Parkside Drive. She said the build will cost around $18.7 million. Cunliffe said $14.5 million of those funds will go toward the fire station.
Const. Krista-Lee Ernst with Hamilton Police Services told Flamborough Today the police portion of the building will be about 9,275 square feet and will have a collision reporting centre on-site.
McMeekin said the collision reporting centre will be a "big deal" for the area. Currently, motorists who wish to file an accident report must travel to the East End station or the Mountain station on Rymal Road.
Ellis said the total square footage of the station will be around 25,500 square feet, with the Hamilton police and Hamilton fire portions of the building being about equal in size.
Hamilton police told FlamboroughToday they have never had a full station in Waterdown, but in the past had an office that was a "secure area" for officers to do paperwork while patrolling the area.
A Community Policing Centre manned by volunteers operated in the former Flamborough Town Hall building on Dundas Street until 2011, when the building was closed to make way for the construction of the Waterdown Library. The Dundas Community Policing Centre closed in 2023.
Ernst said it is too early in the planning process to know how many officers will work out of the Waterdown police station.
“We are working closely with the City of Hamilton to best use the new location and looking forward to sharing our input on the design phase,” Ernst said.
