Half a century of protecting Fort Langley from fire was reduced to rubble over the past few days.
The Fort Langley fire hall, which opened in 1960, was demolished to make way for Spirit Square, a permanent legacy of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of B.C. as a Crown colony.
The first fire hall was established in 1941 in Reid's Garage in the village, and the second occupied a spot close to where the CN station is now.
Bill Bergeron was a firefighter at the hall for 30 years, 28 of them as district chief. But as the village grew, so did the need for fire protection, and in 1959 a permit was taken out for the fire hall where Bergeron served for so many years.
Bergeron recalls that there were many major fires and too many tragedies. The Rogers and Boyd feed mill burned in the 1960s, and fire destroyed the historic Fort Hotel in the 1970s. Missing children, terrible vehicle crashes and dangerous train derailments - the little village had many incidents.
"I could write a book about it," said Bergeron, who retired 10 years ago.
A new fire hall was opened in October, 2005, about 100 feet west of the old hall on 96 Avenue, off Glover Road.
In 2003, when council was discussing plans for its replacement, the aging hall was described as no longer safe nor suitable...