Chester Fire Services Committee

Home
Canada
Chester, NS
Chester Fire Services Committee

Directions Website Contact the organization

The Chester Fire Services Committee is a partnership between the Village of Chester and the Municipality of the District of Chester.

It administers fire & emergency services to districts 3, 7, and part of 1 via the Chester Volunteer Fire Department. Social Media Rules for Engagement

The Chester Fire Services Committee (CFSC) invites all interested parties to listen, share and discuss their opinions provided that all comments remain respectful and courteous. The site administrators respond to questions and comments that are consistent with the CFSC’s social media guidelines within a reasonable timeframe. Please also note the page is not monitored 24/7. If your query is time-sensitive, contact us directly: [email protected]

The CFSC reserves the right to remove from its official social media channels any posted online content, comments or links which are deemed unsuitable, inappropriate, or contain any of the following:

• Comments not relevant to the particular posting by the CFSC’s social media administrator
• Slanderous or derogatory remarks, obscenities, profane language, sexual content, or personal attacks
• Content that endorses, promotes, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, colour, age, sexual orientation, religion, gender, gender identity, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, or physical or mental disability (visible or invisible)
• Promotion of illegal activities or danger to public safety
• Spam or irrelevant external links
• Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
• Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party (e.g., copyright, trademark, brand names, logos, moral rights to a work, etc. that does not have proper permission for use)

Inappropriate content is recorded for record-keeping purposes and hidden or deleted. Repeat incidents may result in being banned from the page without notice. Thank you,
The Administrators

10/05/2026

Energy efficiency is a long-term cost decision.

The new station is designed to use 25 percent less energy than Canada's National Energy Code for Buildings reference model. Key measures include:
- An air-to-water heat pump HVAC system, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and life-cycle costs.
- A high-efficiency building envelope suited to Nova Scotia's climate
- A solar-ready roof and electrical room, with capacity for a future 100–300 kW solar array

The site itself is designed to the same standard. Bio-swales, infiltration gardens, and rock swales manage stormwater naturally and reinforce the ecological buffer to the lake.

Efficient design today means lower operating costs for the community over the life of the building.

09/28/2026

A station designed to attract the next generation of volunteers.

The Chester Volunteer Fire Department depends entirely on volunteers, and recruitment and retention are ongoing priorities for every volunteer department in Nova Scotia. The new station addresses this directly.

The second level includes a 1,760-square-foot meeting and training room, a full kitchen, and a common room — proper facilities for the regular training that modern firefighting demands, and for the camaraderie that keeps a volunteer department strong.

One of the five guiding principles behind the design is simply titled I Want to Work There: a quality space that improves recruiting, retention, and camaraderie of volunteers.

A department's most important asset is its people. This building is designed to support them — and to welcome the members who have not joined yet.

09/21/2026

One notable element of the new design is a dedicated, glass-fronted display bay for the department's antique fire truck, located at the public entrance, along with a Hallway of History inside connecting the station's past to its future.

Generations of Chester families have served in this department. The new station is designed to honour that legacy — Pride in Protection is one of the five principles that shaped the design: a station that honours the fire department's legacy and its vital role in Chester's future.

A new building, carrying forward a long tradition of service.

09/14/2026

The most important design feature is one you will never see from the road.

Firefighting carries serious long-term health risks, and contaminated gear is among the most significant. The new station is organized around clear zoning: dedicated wet and dry decontamination rooms, an 1,100-square-foot bunker gear room, showers, and separated clean and contaminated pathways so that contamination does not follow our volunteers into the rest of the building.

The design also provides quiet recovery spaces with forest-facing views, recognizing that the demands of emergency response extend beyond the physical.

This is the standard for a modern fire station: a building that protects the people who protect the community.

09/09/2026

$100,000 — donated by the firefighters themselves.

In 2025, the members of the Chester Volunteer Fire Department donated $100,000 of their own funds toward the new fire station.

The same volunteers who answer calls at all hours, in all conditions, have also contributed financially to the station they will serve from. The Committee believes this speaks to the character of the department, and it is why we are committed to delivering a station worthy of that service.

To date, building donations total $287,000, and the broader fundraising effort is now underway. We will share more on how the community can participate in the weeks ahead.

08/24/2026

Who is the Chester Fire Services Committee?

The Committee is a six-member volunteer body responsible for fire services governance in the Chester area, with members appointed by both the Village of Chester and the Municipality of the District of Chester:

• Colin MacDonald, Chair (Village appointee)
• Norm Countway, Vice-Chair (Municipality appointee)
• Kirk Collicutt, Treasurer-Secretary (Municipality appointee)
• Wilson F**t, Fire Station Project Director (Village appointee)
• Nancy Hatch (Village appointee)
• James Robert (Municipality appointee)

The Committee oversees the new fire station project on the community's behalf, supported by a professional team including Grey Cardinal (project management and cost consulting), Acre Architects (site and building design), CBCL (engineering), and specialist consultants in emergency services design, building code, landscape architecture, and hardware.

Questions about the project are always welcome — in the comments, through the website, or directly to any member of the Committee.

08/17/2026

What a beautiful sight!

08/10/2026

Those of us who live here know that we’re lucky to be surrounded by the ocean and the waters of countless lakes and rivers. For some of us, it provides our livelihood. For others, it’s the place we relax and test ourselves as sailors, swimmers, or surfers.

We also understand the dangers that come with the beauty and wealth of the ocean. For firefighters, the challenges of the ocean are very real, whether it be response to medical emergencies on boats or remote islands, or fighting fires in remote areas.

With their recent purchase of a new-to-them boat, the Chester Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) has increased their effectiveness in response to those marine-based or remote emergencies. The boat will have some fire fighting capacity and will improve firefighters access to the ocean for water supply in the many hard to reach areas of our coastline. In addition, the boat can be used to support evacuation efforts in case of climate or other emergencies.

The boat a 2007- 22 ft Rosborough with twin outboards was purchased using CVFD funds augmented by a generous private donation. It will respond to emergencies when requested by neighbouring fire departments in the same way that local departments now send firefighters and equipment to support each other. It will also supplement existing marine emergency response services operated by the Coast Guard and police.

“We are proud that our department can make this contribution to the safety of the communities and citizens we serve,” Nick Hirle, Acting Fire Chief “I expect it will be a valued asset for our department and our fellow emergency responders in the area.”

08/03/2026

A village composition, not a facility.

The direction given to Acre Architects was clear from the outset: the station must feel like it belongs in Chester.

Rather than a single large institutional block, the building is composed as a series of smaller, familiar volumes, echoing the rhythm of local houses, sheds, and boathouses. Materials are simple and durable, selected for salt air and coastal weather. Varied rooflines reduce the perceived scale, and the lighting strategy is warm and controlled — the building glows rather than floods.

The result is intended to read immediately as a place of service and safety: an address of civic pride that conveys trust through restraint and order.

We welcome your thoughts on the design in the comments below.

chesterfirecommittee.ca

Address

63 Regent Street, Box 620
Chester, NS
B0J1J0

Website

https://www.chesterfirecommittee.ca/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Chester Fire Services Committee posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Chester Fire Services Committee:

Want your organization to be the top-listed government service in Chester?