Chester Fire Services Committee

Home
Canada
Chester, NS
Chester Fire Services Committee

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 con

sistent 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

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

07/20/2026

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.

chesterfirecommittee.ca

07/13/2026

$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.
chesterfirecommittee.ca

07/07/2026

Shared training - we love to see it.

07/06/2026

Why a new station, and why this location?

The current fire hall has served the village well for decades, but it was not designed for today's apparatus, current safety standards, or the requirements of protecting firefighter health.

The new site on Nova Scotia Trunk 3 provides:

• Room for modern apparatus, with approximately 9,390 square feet of bay space
• Direct highway access supporting faster, safer response times
• Proper decontamination, training, and gear storage facilities
• A site that can serve the department for the next 50 years and beyond

One of the five guiding principles behind the design states it plainly: Helping Firefighters Help Others — a functional space that clears a path for fast and safe operations to minimize response times.

chesterfirecommittee.ca

06/15/2026

Following months of work with Acre Architects, CBCL, and the full project team, the Chester Fire Services Committee is pleased to share the final design for the new Chester Fire Station on Nova Scotia Trunk 3.

The station is designed to feel at home in Chester: a composition of smaller, familiar volumes rather than a single institutional block, sitting low against the treeline, with warm, controlled lighting that serves as a quiet civic beacon on the highway.

Thank you to all who attended the Public Information Meeting on May 11. Over the coming weeks, we will share a closer look at the design — the apparatus bays, the spaces built for firefighter health and safety, the heritage elements, the project financials, and the next steps toward construction.

We invite you to follow along. This station belongs to the whole community.

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?