This is not a drill

Fire crews from across the County joined to prevent the fire at Midtown Meats from spreading in 2009. From the Times archive.

County looks to spend $5 million to replace five fire halls with two new facilities

It was just a few months ago County council was warned it had too many buildings (80 plus) and too many properties (120 plus). With scant reserves to maintain these properties, council concluded it had to shed some assets—there was no money to fix them or replace them.

Six months is a long time in local politics. Last week a committee of council took a big step toward developing two brand new fire stations that will cost in excess of $5 million. It will also close five existing stations.

Perhaps more worrisome for County ratepayers is that the Master Fire Plan is not yet complete. These two new fire stations form just the initial recommendations to improve and enhance firefighting and emergency response services in this community. For the past two years a Master Fire Plan Committee has been meeting to consider the County’s fire services—capabilities and capacity— relative to current provincial standards. The committee comprises mostly fire officials, as well as the County’s finance chief Susan Turnbull. Councillor Terry Shortt joined the committee after he was elected in the fall of 2010.

The group has been working toward a new Master Fire Plan that will identify deficiencies in the current system and recommend improvements. Yet, prior to their final report, the committee has chosen to present council with its recommendation for two new fire halls. One is a proposed four-bay facility at the corner of County Roads 33 (Loyalist Parkway) and 29 (Main Street) Consecon, on the site of a former small quarry. The other is a 12-bay fire and emergency services building to be located on land in the vicinity of the traffic circle at Waring’s Corners.

Five stations will be closed under the proposed plan in Hillier, Consecon, Mallory Road in Bloomfield, and Picton at Ross Street and the hall on the Heights. Two halls in particular— Hillier and Ross Street—have been flagged as acute problems needing immediate attention. Both require significant upgrades and repairs to meet current standards.

Hillier Fire Hall, staff say, is simply beyond repair. And in Picton, even if they spent the money to bring it up to current standards, Ross Street still wouldn’t meet the County’s existing needs—let alone future requirements—according to the staff report presented to the committee of council last week.

The proposed new 6,528 square foot hall in Consecon is estimated to cost $1.3 million. The combined fire and EMS hall at Waring’s Corners is expected to cost $2.8 million plus the cost of land—which has not yet been acquired. The proposal calls for an additional $700,000 to be spent on improving fire halls in North Marsyburgh, Rossmore and Wellington.

EMS ambulances and staff are currently housed in a leased facility in Picton’s industrial park. The first term is set to expire in four years, after which this service would move to the Waring’s Corners station.

Mayor Peter Mertens says he is reasonably certain the municipality may terminate the land ambulance lease at the end of the 10-year term without penalty.

The committee figures it might get as much as $1.5 million for the combined land it disposes of in Picton (Ross Street and the Heights), Hillier, Bloomfield and Consecon. It also expects it can do with fewer trucks, from 36 currently, down to 33.

The proposal also calculates it will cost less to operate the smaller nine station fire hall system—though only about $56,000 per year less—through a combination of direct savings as well as reduced reserve funding needed to support the closed facilities.

For some, the investment in new stations may mean longer fire response times rather than less. Reducing the firefighting system from 12 fire halls to eight will inevitably put some residences farther away from fire services. According to data in the report, 90 per cent of fire calls occur within eight kilometres of one of the 12 fire stations in the current configuration. Under the proposed plan the percentage of these calls covered in an eight-kilometre radius will drop to 83 per cent. This may, or may not, have an effect on residents’ home insurance coverage, according to the report.

Mertens said that while he was skeptical of the estimated valuations assigned to the properties to be sold, he praised the overall work of the committee in developing the rationale and support for the proposal.

A project manager will now be hired to take the first steps toward building the Consecon fire station and acquiring land for a new station within 400 metres of the traffic circle at Waring’s Corners.