In August, a house on Sarah Gibson’s street was intentionally set on fire. Within minutes the home had collapsed.
The next day, she, her husband and young children went out to buy four emergency fire ladders in case their house was next.
“If something happened, I don’t know what we’d do,” she said. “With a fire hall nowhere near us, it’s just really scary.”
Gibson lives in Windermere, a community in Edmonton’s southwest that has seen several arsons this year.
At the latest fire on Nov. 15, fire crews were on the scene in five minutes, but it was not fast enough to keep the flames from breaking windows and melting the siding of neighbouring houses.
Police are still investigating, but believe the fire was deliberately set.
The closest fire station is located at 131 Haddow Close NW, a 10-minute drive without traffic.
Edmonton Fire Services outlined the creation of the Windermere fire hall in its 2016-2018 business plan, hoping the project would be completed by the end of 2018.
But a few weeks ago, Coun. Tim Cartmell told the community fire services only received the necessary support for the project earlier this year, meaning the the hall would not be ready until 2020.
Cartmell could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
The proposed fire hall is supposed to be constructed behind a strip mall at 3841 37 Allan Drive SW.
Gibson said the fire hall cannot come soon enough.
“To hear that it’s being delayed after all these fires … it makes me go just ‘Why?’ ” she said. “I just don’t understand why it’s not a priority.”
Greater Windermere Community League president Janet Ho said residents have come forward with concerns, but the community is running out of options.
“The only thing we can do is voice our concerns to our councillor and have him represent us,” she said.
In the meantime, the community league will be hosting an information session on fire prevention in February to teach residents how to prepare for fires, Ho said.
The community is also hoping to partner with a big box store to get a discount for residents if they buy fire prevention gear in bulk.