The Bracebridge Fire Department may be set to move its second station from 3448 Hwy. 11 E. near Vankoughnet to Uffington Park.
Terry Gervais with The Loomex Group, a consulting business based in Peterborough, Ont., presented the organization’s reasoning for relocating the station to 1002 Uffington Rd., which he noted is already owned by the town, is the only viable option.
The process to relocate station two was given approval by council to start June 2022.
Gervais, who noted he was a firefighter for nearly four decades before joining Loomex, outlined how one of the aspects they used to determine the Uffington area is best suited for the new station involved geographic information systems to map out how many properties would be protected during the day and at night within nine, 10, 14 and 18 minutes of the fire department being called.
Within 18 minutes during the day, the proposed location would reach 1,149 properties, an increase of 542 from its current location, and 804 at night, an increase of 303.
Gervais detailed how Loomex used the five-year average response time by the fire department at its two current stations to determine how many properties are currently protected and how many may be watched over with the proposed location for station two.
“An effective response force is the appropriate number of firefighters to protect the community and protect the safety of your firefighters,” explained Gervais, adding an important aspect involves how quickly both stations can converge.
According to the data presented, that would not happen within 18 minutes during the day or at night under the current setup, however, station one would overlap with the proposed location for station two within 14 minutes at night and 18 minutes during the day.
Gervais added the potential move might give the fire department better access to water supply, namely space for an extra tanker truck to be housed at station two. He said it could lead to residents saving some money on their insurance if they live in an area that isn’t serviced by a hydrant. Gervais explained how the department utilizes the tankers to shuttle water to the scene when hydrants aren’t available.
Scott Granahan, fire chief for the Bracebridge Fire Department, suggested the move will help with recruitment. “We’re confident we’re not only going to see the same or greater response time, we’re going to see us actually hit an effective response force by definition, which is 15 firefighters,” he continued but added they want to have over 20 by the time the new station opens.
Granahan estimated the work, as proposed, could cost around $4.5 million and should be finished by 2026.
He laid out how station two is currently in an undersized building with little, if any, room for it to expand at its current location. Notably, he said it only has one bathroom and no shower which means volunteers are cleaning off after a call at home, putting their families at risk of being contaminated. Further to that, he said the building has barely enough room for firefighters to clean their gear, freely move around, or train.
It’s noted in Gervais’ report that station two was opened on Thanksgiving weekend in 1982. Meanwhile station one on Taylor Rd., which the fire department shares with Muskoka Paramedic Services, was opened in Sept. 2018.
Coun. Barb McMurray, who represents Oakley Ward, which is where station two is currently located, called the proposal “a whole bunch of gobbledygook” and said it’s a “slap in the face” to her community who she added were going to be the “losers” in this scenario.
Granahan responded, “there are no winners or losers.”
He added this isn’t a ward issue, but a servicing issue. “I can commit to you, without any hesitation, this is the right move,” said Granahan.
Stephen Rettie, the town’s chief administrative officer, said public consultation may happen for this project, but this has to be the first step. “We wouldn’t bring something forward to the community that doesn’t have some sort of council endorsement,” he said.
The report was given a thumbs up by the majority of councillors during the May 7 General Committee meeting after a nearly three-hour discussion but still needs to be approved during the town’s May 15 council meeting before the process can move forward.
McMurray and District Coun. Don Smith were the only councillors to vote against the proposal during the committee meeting.