By Nikki May
On Saturday, November 8, 2025 Fire Chief Jeff Dentinger led 15 members of Saugeen Nature on a tour around the new Hanover Fire Station. Jeff gave us very detailed explanations of the features of the building, and patiently answered our questions for over 2 hours. We visited everything from the command centre to the utility rooms that served the solar panels to the shower rooms where firefighters clean off all the contamination that they acquire in the course of fighting a fire.
The tour started in the administration side of the building. Dentinger explained to us how the fire station was designed to be a net-zero building. Solar panels that cover the entire roof collect enough energy during the year to supply the total annual power demand for the operation. Engineers are monitoring the incoming energy from the panels and the total electricity usage of the station to ensure that the panels are fully operational and to confirm that the design is doing what it was planned to do. Part of the tour also included the utility room where the units that are the heart of this system are controlled. The room was beautifully quiet.
In the administration section, we learned how the team responds to a report of a fire. Jeff explained how the state-of-the-art communications equipment and screens allowed the supervisory team to track a fire and their incoming personnel, most of whom are part-time and must be called to the station where they put on their gear and climb on the trucks ready to go. We also learned how the firefighters gather after a fire to debrief and wind down in a way designed to reduce mental stress engendered by the devastation that they encounter during their work.
Next up was the training section. The Hanover fire station has a full training programme certified by the Ontario government and all the training for Hanover personnel can be done in this building, right up to the highest certification. Besides the course work taught in the training room, there is a complex of rooms on the second level of the building that is used for lifelike simulator training.
The room configurations can be altered to mimic all kinds of interior spaces. The rooms can also be fully darkened and filled with smoke so that the student fire-fighters can experience what it really feels like to go into an unknown residence or business filled with smoke.
There was much more that we learned but this article is too short to tell it all. Members of Saugeen Nature visited the building originally to learn about how a leading-edge climate friendly building is designed and operated. We are very interested in finding out how society can mitigate our climate impact since climate change can have a devastating impact on the natural world we know and love. We came away from the tour, impressed not only by this leading-edge building that Hanover has built, but also by how hard our firefighters work to keep us safe, not only from fires but also in responding to medical emergencies and rescue work.
We commend Hanover council for their foresight in having such an environmental and climate-friendly facility erected in the town. The net-zero features and energy saving features should ideally be incorporated in all new buildings, municipal, commercial or residential. Hanover’s leadership is one that we hope other Grey and Bruce county municipalities will follow.
We commend Jeff on an excellent presentation and tour. We are impressed by all the safety standards and training that are involved in a firefighter’s profession.