‘The gold standard’: Mississauga introduces first net zero energy building with latest fire station

Mississauga Fire’s Station 125 is up and running, but with a unique approach previously not seen in other municipal buildings in the city. Setting it apart from others constructed in recent years, the latest facility is designed around a model to achieve a net zero emissions footprint.

Station 125, located at Tenth Line and Aquitaine Avenue, is the latest to be added to Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) stock. Its zero emissions design represents an unusual dynamic for a municipality that for years let its fire infrastructure run dry.

The fire service previously failed to invest the dollars needed to keep pace with the population growth, leaving aging infrastructure to fall into a state of decay following decades of lean City hall budgets that left Mississauga’s fire response in a state of neglect. The scale of the inertia came under the microscope in 2021 when Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi stepped into the head role and demanded the City invest $66 million over the next decade into critical infrastructure, including refurbishments to bring 17 fire stations up to standard and pay for necessary repairs that had been side barred. To address the fire service’s poor response times, which sit well below established standards, the department also presented a more rigorous infrastructure strategy to build six new fire houses across a 12-year horizon.

Among them is Station 125, which was previously designated a priority project within the City to serve a high growth area identified in the City’s Shaping Ninth Line future growth plans. Construction on the $10 million project began on the facility in May 2023 and was completed in June of this year.

The goal of MFES’ newest facility is to target net zero energy — a building characterization that promotes efficient energy use by avoiding carbon emitting fuel sources and instead, generates energy on-site, using clean renewable resources that find a balance between the total amount of energy consumed onsite versus what is emitted into its surrounding environment. The City cautions, however, that “net zero” can only be confirmed after a year of building operations once the facility undergoes a review and analysis of energy use and on-site production.

The model marks the first of its kind for Mississauga’s corporate building stock and will be used as a “pioneer project” for future Mississauga Fire locations.

“It changes a lot as far as how we heat the station, how we operate the station. The idea is that we generate on site as much energy as we consume. That's the goal, which changed the way we do things,” John Crozier, deputy chief of capital assets for MFES, told The Pointer.

“All these concepts we put into the station we're using as ‘can we do this at our renovations? Can we do this at our new builds? And is it the most effective thing?’ So we’re constantly learning from what we did here. We've already made some changes based on what we’ve learned here on the new builds that we're working on as well, and the renovations. So the good and the bad we're taking from the station and the design to move forward.”

Deputy chief John Crozier says the new station will be used as a model for future stations and renovation projects moving forward.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer) 

To make the station a net zero building, the design features rooftop and building integrated solar panels to offset 100 percent of the structure’s energy use. Through 245 panels, the City anticipates the average annual production will be approximately 109 megawatt hours per year. The facility also includes a passive house envelope model to minimize heat loss through enhanced insulation, high speed bi-fold doors in the bay area to provide a better seal and shielding for the apparatus’ as well as increased air tightness of the building. All systems are electric, with the exception of natural gas being utilized for the emergency generator.

Other features include: variable refrigerant flow heat pumps for heating and cooling in the living space; in-floor hydronic heating (heat pump) for apparatus bay; low impact stormwater development strategies that manage stormwater flow and runoff on-site; level 2 electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot; and a level 3 one for the future electric fleet.

“We felt that the fire station would be a perfect candidate to [incorporate green standards], because it's a small enough building that we knew we would be able to actually achieve the net zero,” Anna Cascioli, director of facilities planning and development, explained. “It's more complicated on larger buildings, like recreation centers, because the energy consumption in those buildings are significant, whereas in this building, it's kind of like a glorified house, if you will, just with a larger garage. So we did feel it was a great candidate to put forward as trying to achieve net zero energy.”

The new design will be integrated into ensuing projects wherever possible. Fire stations 123, located at 3050 the Collegeway, and 124 at 2524 Cawthra, will be starting construction this fall and are both targeting a net zero energy approach.

Cascioli said the City will be reviewing future renovation projects planned over the next decade, as part of MFES’ renewal infrastructure strategy, on a case by case basis to determine where new green technologies can be implemented to maximize sustainability. Upcoming renovations will look at incorporating energy efficient mechanical and electrical equipment to lower the facilities carbon footprint and adopting stormwater management techniques where possible.

The challenge, she cautioned, is that retrofitting existing structures with green standards in mind is complex and costly, requiring significant changes that could compromise the current layout. Moving forward, staff will be studying the structural design of future renovation projects to determine how the initial facility can be maintained while incorporating green standards.

“It really does depend on the layout of the site as well. We call it a template design, but in reality, what we're templating are these adjacencies, and making sure that the hot and the cold are separated, and really kind of making sure that that contamination gets dealt with in one area and not get passed in through to the living quarters.”

Station 125 focuses on ensuring chemicals firefighters are exposed to while on call are shielded from the living quarters when they return to the hall.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer) 

A three-part series by The Pointer previously revealed the City had been aware of asbestos in its fire stations despite numerous studies highlighting the dangers of such chemicals, after a 2019 audit found asbestos was present in several Mississauga fire stations where emergency responders were eating and sleeping during their shifts. The same audit also found buildings with issues such as improper access and a lack of washrooms for female staff. Prior to the construction of Fire Station 120 in 2019, the last one was built in 2003. At the time, MFES had only eight female firefighters. As of December 2022, there are 41 female firefighters. There are currently eight that do not have female washrooms and change room facilities, according to MFES’ 2025 proposed budget, which highlights that “as the staffing composition continues to change, stations must be modified to accommodate all employees.” This has been identified as a priority within the fire service’s 10-year capital infrastructure plan.

The design and layout of the latest facility moves away from the narrative that previously manifested throughout the service and looks to address these issues. 

“I think we're changing the culture by building facilities that are built for the firefighters and how they do their work,” Crozier explained.

Key features highlighted in the new station include a focus on health, safety, and cancer prevention, which MFES is achieving by clearly separating clean areas, such as the living quarters, from “dirty zones” (apparatus bay and maintenance areas) to minimize cross-contamination. It also includes dedicated laundry facilities and bunker gear rooms for cleaning and storing firefighting gear, equipped with proper ventilation and exhaust systems. Universal washrooms, change rooms and dorms have also been incorporated into the design to enhance privacy while still supporting decontamination efforts. A virtual training A/V system and a lounge area for on-site training are also part of the design.

Rizzi said it is very important to the fire service to be pushing the boundaries on best practices when it comes to building fire infrastructure, especially ensuring the health and safety of the service’s firefighters.

“There's lessons learned from every fire station that's built,” Chief Rizzi explained. “I find municipal staff and fire service staff are very honest about lessons learned and it's often when the staff come in and the fire station is operationalized, meaning that people are actually living and working in the station, that you realize what works and what doesn't work for various reasons, and then you try and incorporate those lessons learned into the next build.”

The new station has been designed to achieve the highest net zero energy performance levels, as laid out in the City’s Corporate Green Development Standards.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer) 

The newest firehall also builds on the City’s Climate Change Action Plan which outlined targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below the same threshold by 2050. To build on its efforts, the City established a Corporate Green Development Standard for its own buildings and facilities — currently accountable for 28 percent of corporate greenhouse gas emissions — which raises the sustainability performance levels in the City’s new construction and major renovation projects by putting in place stronger criteria. These standards place sustainability as the guiding force for new development by aiming to reduce energy use, water consumption and waste contribution, to ultimately eliminate the amount of GHG emissions.

Similar to the standards accepted by the City of Toronto, Mississauga’s model is a tier-based standard that sets three increasing levels of performance, the City explained. Fire Station 125 is designed to achieve Level 3 — the highest level regarding energy and climate change metrics and targets the building to achieve net zero energy performance levels. Moving forward, all new City facilities, renovations and life cycle replacements will be looked at in conjunction with Mississauga’s Corporate Green Building Standard to optimize sustainability.

The City’s climate strategy also identifies several actions to be considered by MFES when it comes to future facilities and fleet/equipment needs, including building all new municipally owned buildings to be more energy efficient and near net zero, developing a green fleet policy, and looking at low-carbon technologies to deliver City services.

The City’s first electric fire truck is anticipated to arrive by end of November. MFES will be monitoring its use to determine if it is the right fit amongst the rest of the service’s fleet.

“With introducing an electric truck we're balancing the green aspect of the Climate Change Action Plan, versus operation efficiency,” Crozier explained. “So we're going to put it through its paces and test it. Make sure that it's the right truck, it's the right model, it's in the right atmosphere. Is it the right location? As well as charging rates and reliability. Before we venture into a second or third we want to make sure we’re buying the right stuff.”

Looking ahead, the City and MFES are hopeful the project will obtain the International Living Future Institute “Zero Energy Certification,” which requires that 100 percent of the building’s energy consumption be supplied by on-site renewable energy on an annual basis. Staff explained that a full year of utility bills for the station, along with the required energy production data, will determine whether the project has achieved its net zero energy goal.

The official opening will be held on November 30th.

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Twitter: @mcpaigepeacock 

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