After more than 20 years, Quinte West finally has a fire station worthy of the amalgamated city is has become.

With nearly 200 people on hand, Quinte West firefighters officially opened their brand new fire station on Dixon Drive Wednesday afternoon.

The 21,000 square foot facility features four truck bays, a gymnasium and training centre, a training tower and living quarters. It will house the fire fighters and fire prevention centre as well as serve as the fire department headquarters.

“It is a state of the art building,” Fire Chief John Whelan told the crowd which included members of the community, area and regional politicians and dozens of active and retired fire fighters from Quinte West and the surrounding area.

“This is a big deal. It’s a great day for us and the community. A safer community is a safer lifestyle.”

The $7.1 million project, completed by Task Force Engineering of Belleville, will be in on time and on budget noted Deputy Chief Dan Smith who led the committee that put together the project.

“This is exactly what we need and it will fill our needs for the next 50 years,” he said.

Mayor Jim Harrison noted a new fire hall has been talked about by the city since amalgamation 20 years ago.

“It’s taken a long time, but it was well worth it,” he said. “I’m really pleased. I’m really proud of it. It is a state of the art facility. We have put a lot into it because when you do something, a little extra it just works that much better.

“This will certainly serve these young ladies and gentlemen for a long time.”

Besides city councillors and officials, MP Neil Ellis and MPP Todd Smith attended the event, as did local mayors Taso Christopher of Belleville and Mark Walas of Brighton and CFB Trenton Base Commander Mark Goulden.

Ellis, whose father was a firefighter, noted he had practically grown up in fire halls and “this is a heck of a fire hall here.”

“And this is one of the biggest grand openings I’ve even been to, and I have been to a lot of grand openings. It just shows how much this means to this community.”

Besides all the practical aspects of the fire hall, the new facility also contains historical items from the seven area fire halls that make up the Quinte West fire department.

Those items will be part of a display that will help educate local children about firefighting and fire safety.