The new EMS station is right next to the Wabasca/Desmarais Healthcare Centre, and features “modern, comfortable lodgings” for EMS crews and a conference room.

Freed up space in the healthcare centre formerly used by EMS personnel is now being used to create a permanent area for occupational therapy and physiotherapy services, along with staff training, according to the EMS press release.

The cost of the facility is expected to be between $220,000 and $250,000. According to Tom Kent, president of the board of the directors, “When my father was president of the organization he started squirrelling away money for a new building. He put it away in annuities, so now we have $100,000 toward the cost.”

The 21-year-old driver of the Toyota was briefly trapped in the vehicle and was taken to Duke University hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One medic in the ambulance was also taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

But construction costs have ratcheted up to nearly $1,072 a square foot, up from $680 a square foot when they first began planning a year or so ago, said Fire Chief John Healy.

"With the global economy and disasters in the world, the cost of construction outweighed our ability to build that larger building," Healy said, later adding the station near the busy State Route 92 serves an important role. "This station being located in the center of the city is a very important part of the overall response because it can go north, south, east and west easily. And it will maintain the response times our citizens have become accustomed to and expect. So it's a very important part of our fire delivery service to the community."

A decision on the building's size is ultimately up to the City Council, which meets Monday, Nov. 3, to review preliminary options that include an 8,920-square-foot facility estimated to cost $9.1 million, or a more modest 4,493-square-foot station with a $6.2 million price tag, according to a staff report.