Opening of Paradise fire station delayed again

The Town of Paradise will have to wait a little longer to open its new fire hall, because of unspecified legal issues with a contractor.

• New fire hall for Paradise '99%' complete, but still not open
• Paradise picks St. John's for fire services

The brand new fire hall was supposed to open June 1, but that date was pushed back to July, and now St. John's city councillor and co-chair of Regional Fire Services Jonathan Galgay says there are more delays.

"It is extremely disappointing that we're faced with this challenge," Galgay told CBC on Friday. "The Town of Paradise is very disappointed as well."

Galgay said there are "a whole host of issues. It has to do with a particular company." But he said it's not a problem with construction.

"It's not about the quality of work," he said. "Some legal issues have to be dealt with. I'm optimistic we can come to a compromise."

Until the legal problems with the contractor — who he did not name — are sorted out, he said crews can't move in and the opening date could be sometime in the fall.

Paradise councillor Sterling Willis said there will be no issue with loss of coverage. He said crews from other stations in the St. John's Regional Fire Department will respond to fires in the community.

The community agreed in 2013 to pay roughly $2.5 million per year to be part of the regional fire service.

Until the Paradise fire hall is opened, firefighters hired to work there will be assigned to other stations in the metro area.