New Langley Township fire hall opens with ‘push in’ ceremony

State-of-the-art hall expected to reduce response times in the neighbourhood

New Langley Township fire hall opens with ‘push in’ ceremony Published 8:00 pm Thursday, July 16, 2026 With a full pipe band, an honour guard with silver axes, and a ceremonial “push in,” Langley Township officially opened its new fire hall in Brookswood on Thursday, July 16. “This is the beginning of a new chapter in how we serve our residents,” said fire chief Jason de Roy. The new fire hall is located at 27 Avenue just west of 200 Street, and replaces the old Brookswood hall, which operated with paid-call firefighters, with a new “composite” hall that will be staffed by both full-time and paid-call members.

it’s considerably larger than the aging former hall, which will now be used as a training facility. The new hall has four fire truck bays, maintenance space for its trucks, and an array of rooftop solar panels that will produce about 12 per cent of the building’s energy. It’s also in a better location than the old hall, particularly as Brookswood-Fernridge continues to grow to the south.

The location is expected to reduce response times by three minutes and 36 seconds in the Brookswood area, and could shave about 21 seconds off of overall Township Fire Department responses community-wide. “In our business, seconds matter,” de Roy said. Another major change, mentioned by de Roy, IAFF local 4550 leader Jason Sparrow, and Township Councillor Tim Baillie, is the advanced decontamination facilities in place.

The series of showers and heavy-duty washing machines for firefighter gear can be accessed by crews as soon as they get off the trucks, removing potential cancer-causing gunk from fire as fast as possible. Baillie, who lost a longtime friend and fellow firefighter to cancer, and has had cancer twice himself, praised the facilities. “This decon corridor will save firefighters’ lives,” he said.

Sparrow also noted the facility is more than just a building. “It’s a home for firefighters,” he said. Mayor Eric Woodward spoke about the fact that since the last time the Township built a new firehall, more than 20 years ago, about 70,000 people have moved to the community.

Langley has 100 structure fires a year, or almost one every three days, he noted. “Before we built this hall, response times in Brookswood were unacceptable,” the mayor said. After the speeches and a colour guard procession, firefighters gathered for the traditional “push in” event.

De Roy explained that in the 19th century, fire crews unhitched their teams of horses from their steam-powered firefighting apparatus, and then had to physically push them into their halls after a fire. Now, firefighters christen a new hall by physically pushing in a full fire truck – in this case a brand new model that comes complete with a giant lithium-ion battery pack that can save wear and tear on the engine while it’s parked and operating. Dozens of firefighters, family, and supports pushed the truck into the hall.

Following a first flag raising, firefighters then went to work, with the first official shift taking up its duties.