By Adam Frisk
A new report recommends that Highlands East should work to consolidate its fire services by closing some of its current fire halls while building a new facility.
Consulting firm Loomex Group presented to the municipality a final fire master plan on Aug. 12, outlining 33 recommendations to modernize the fire department.The plan generally outlines strategies to improve public education, code enforcement, and fire suppression services to protect residents and property.
Among the recommendations is a fire station consolidation plan.
“This is probably the biggest recommendation that I want to highlight today… and it’s not one that you can solve today,” Loomex’s Terry Gervais told council. “But it’s really something that both this council and future councils got to look at both from a strategic position but a financial position and what’s best for the fire service and the residents.”
The report suggests closing station 6 in Paudash and moving its firefighters and equipment to station 1 in Cardiff. Gervais also recommended the renovation of the Cardiff station immediately and planning for a complete replacement down the road.
“It’s not easy for council to make these decisions to consolidate fire stations or move fire stations but I think we’ve provided enough data and certainly when it comes to the time to discuss this, there’s the data and documentation that’s going to show how it’s the right thing to do for your community.”
The report also suggested the closure of the Highland Grove station as well as the station in Wilberforce “and relocate all personnel to a new fire station in a central location in the area.”
Gervais estimates in his report that consolidating the fire stations would provide a substantial cost savings of more than $6 million, factoring in the township selling any closed stations and any unneeded equipment.
The consulting group also cited a 2019 report, from another consulting firm, that noted that the majority of the municipality’s fire halls are considered to be in “poor” condition, with two halls identified as being in “good” condition, noting that all of the existing stations were built more than 50 years ago and are at the end of their lifespan.
“By 2029 (the fire halls) were all listed as ‘poor’ and then there were two, station 2 and station 4, were listed as ‘critical,’” Gervais told council. “So that’s a challenge for council and it’s tough decisions for council with what you do with having stations that need to be replaced.”
The building of a new fire station and the closure of the halls in Highland Grove and Wilberforce would mean the municipality would have a total of 19 firefighters responding to calls from one, newer and more centralized station. Gervais noted that the municipality currently has fewer than 15 firefighters at some of its stations, which is below the number needed for the fire underwriters survey for insurance to consider the facility as a fire station.
The report also looked at recommendations around the recruitment and retention of firefighters, occupational health and safety and levels of service. The Loomex Group report was presented simply as information only, with Mayor Dave Burton acknowledging that council will have ample time to address any concerns they should have.
