A majority of Monte Creek area residents who voted in Saturday’s fire protection referendum were in favour of establishing and funding new fire department.

Preliminary results released by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) shows there were 142 votes in favour out of a total of 196 votes cast, meaning there were 54 people who voted no.

Eligible residents from 356 properties in a portion of Electoral Area “L” (Grasslands) and a portion of Electoral Area “P” (Rivers and the Peaks) were able to vote, with the regional district noting the results will be official as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1.

Speaking to NL News on Friday, TNRD Deputy General Manager of Operations, Jamie Vieira, says the vote was the culmination of surveys and a public meeting held in the area last year.

“In that meeting, a proposed hall location and proposed service area was put forward,” he said. “The public at that meeting were in support of moving forward so this is the next step.”

Plans are to build the new Monte Creek Fire Hall at the intersection of Dallas Drive and Hook Road on a parcel of land donated by Ed Herman, who died in the fire on June 8, 2021.

“That property is being offered as a donation by the landowner,” Vieira told NL News last month. “The location of that hall is ideal to both serve the north side of the South Thompson River as well as the Monte Creek community.”

The costs to construct the fire hall and buy equipment and vehicles is actually $2,250,000, Vieira said, noting the TNRD was able to get $1,000,000 of that covered through a grant.

“I am enormously pleased that we have come up with the means to bring the possibility of fire service to the Monte Creek, Del Oro and Lafarge areas within the reach of the Pritchard Volunteer Fire Department,” TNRD Chair and Area L Director, Ken Gillis, said, in a statement.

For more information on the referendum, including the boundaries being proposed, go here.

– With files from Paul James