A consultant’s report says Oliver Paipoonge’s fire department could “efficiently” serve the municipality’s growing residential and commercial development through a combination of upgrading and downsizing.
The 61-page report — which is available on the municipality’s website — says the department should reduce the number of fire halls to four from six.
It recommends building a new fire station adjacent to Oliver Paipoonge’s Highway 130 municipal office, as well as consolidating the existing stations that serve Stanley and Kakabeka Falls “into a single facility.”
The plan would involve the closure of the existing Intola and Rosslyn fire halls. The Murillo and Slate halls would remain in service.
“This preferred option,” the report says, “ensures strong service across the municipality” while “optimizing operational efficiency.”
Constructing a new fire station next to the community’s municipal office would cost in the range of $3-7 million, the report estimates.
The four-station model being recommended would “establish a cost- effective fire service plan for the next 10 years,” the report says.
Most of Oliver Paipoonge’s new commercial and residential development is taking place in the Rosslyn area, the report noted.
The municipality’s population of just over 6,000 requires six firefighters to arrive at an emergency scene within 14 minutes, 80 per cent of the time, according to the report.
The report says closing the Intola fire hall wouldn’t cause response times to increase, but some aren’t so sure.
“A group of dedicated volunteers . . . will be directly impacted by the potential closure of the Intola fire hall and all the services it provides,” one person posted on social media. “Their ability to access important, life-saving, equipment will be further away if the hall is closed.”
Under the report’s proposed timeline, the Intola station would close in the first year of a 10-year plan, while the consolidation of the Stanley and Kakabeka Falls stations would take place over the next four to 10 years.
Meanwhile, the report notes that the existing six fire halls are strapped for storage space, while “none are equipped with diesel exhaust catchment systems, which are essential for reducing exposure to vehicle emissions” when firefighters are in the hall.
The public will have a chance to provide feedback on the report next month at two open houses.
• May 12: Rosslyn Community Hall, 4-8 p.m.
• May 15: Murillo Community Hall, 4-8 p.m.
