ATHABASCA — STARS can fly further and save more lives thanks to an in-kind donation of land, gravel, and a building.
The Athabasca Airport committee agreed to designate a spot at the airport west of the Town of Athabasca for a building to be placed housing fuel for the STARS helicopters then at the Aug. 9 Athabasca County council meeting, the council agreed to donate the gravel needed to provide a base for the building.
“We wanted to take this opportunity to have it located at the Athabasca Airport so we could have provisions for fuel and then that significantly increases our radius of service for Athabasca County,” said STARS senior municipal relations liaison Glenda Farnden in an Aug. 10 phone call.
The opportunity is the donation of a free building from ZS2 Structures from Calgary.
“We average about 23 missions per year in Athabasca County, which is quite significant, and we serve all different regions,” said Farnden. “We've had missions in 10 or more communities in Athabasca County, so pretty much the entire county has been served by STARS and we've flown 16 missions so far this year.”
The relationship between STARS and the county is particularly important, she said, in adding to the health and safety of all residents and visitors to the area.
“We're really hopeful to have this done in the next few weeks because we want to certainly be able to have that available during the winter months,” said Farnden.
Now that the gravel is approved, and once Athabasca County gets it placed, the building will be brought in, said ZS2 Structures co-founder and COO Kristin Davis.
“The benefits being that our materials are highly fire rated, antimicrobial and more resilient than traditional materials,” Davis said. “So, then we combine that with expanded polystyrene, or what we call EPS, foam core in a structurally insulated panel as we refer to them, SIPs, in our industry; those are full-wall assembly units that we manufacture in house and then shipped out to site for installation.”
The Alberta-born and based company started just before the COVID-19 pandemic and due to past experiences, there was already a desire to help STARS so when the opportunity arose, ZS2 jumped.
“We had a long-standing relationship with the director of donor relations, and she reached out knowing us from different companies,“ said Davis. "We did an equipment storage building for the Calgary interfaith Food Bank as a donation in-kind, as well as providing what we do well to the benefit of other nonprofit organizations just seemed like a better opportunity for us to support those organizations. Also, (we’re) pretty new, so it's easier for us to donate a building than it is to write a big cheque.”
The installation at Athabasca Airport will be the first for the company.
“This is the first idea for something like this and then the first time we did the build, it's not to say it will be our last by any measure,” Davis said.
Usually, the company would use a contractor to erect the structure, but, for this one as it's the first, they will be travelling to Athabasca to do it themselves.
“We will be shipping that on the back of a flatbed trailer early this fall,” she said.
Athabasca County Coun. Kelly Chamzuk chairs the airport committee and is pleased they are able to help STARS.
“I am personally proud to be a part of a council that supports STARS,” Chamzuk said. “The fuel cache will be able to assist STARS in ensuring that access to fuel to reach all residents in Athabasca County and beyond.”
A sentiment echoed by reeve Brian Hall.
“Athabasca County is pleased to partner with such vital life-saving services,” he said.
