Construction on the new Glen Orchard Paramedic Station is underway.
Jeff Lehman, District Chair says the new station (3843 Muskoka Road 118) is located to “optimize response times in West Muskoka.”
Town officials say it is set to be fully operational in 2025, replacing the existing Port Carling Paramedic Station.
“The facility helps our front-line paramedics do what they do best – get to you as quickly as possible when you need them, with the tools they need to deliver first-class emergency response.” Lehman says.
Lehman adds this facility is going to support the Community Paramedicine program which helps paramedics schedule and visit people to “help them avoid having to call 911 in the future and help them avoid having to go to the hospital.”
“With nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Muskoka to cover, the location and condition of our paramedic facilities are paramount. This new building is truly a ‘next generation’ station, with energy efficiency and technology that will save taxpayer dollars and help us best support our patients,” Lehman says. “It helps the building produce less emissions to fight the climate change, but it also saves a lot of money for the tax payers.”
According to the Town of Huntsville, the project was approved in 2022 but was pushed back due to construction costs. The original construction cost was $5.6 million, but according to Lehman, the build will cost less than $5 million.
“We went back retendered, made some changes, and we ended up with, I think, a much better solution both for the tax payer and in term of who is building it,” Lehman says. “You are going to save millions of dollars in the long term in energy costs.”
Lehman says the building is being constructed with triple-glazed windows and insulating concrete forms (ICF), stating it would cost “a lot less than it would with a typical building.”
“The Glen Orchard Paramedic Station is a key component to the ten-year master plan to enhance paramedic service delivery in our communities,” added Jeff McWilliam, Chief of Muskoka Paramedic Services and Emergency Management. “Extensive deployment modelling and projections have ideally located this station to be the anchor point for today’s demands and growth in West Muskoka.”
Lehman says the facility will be in service in less than a year. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new paramedic station is planned for Spring 2025.