Duane Hicks
As of this month, the Kenora Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) is the new emergency dispatch service provider for Fort Frances—a switch from the Dryden Police Service that is expected to save the town some money.
Fort Frances Fire Chief Gerry Armstrong said the changeover will not affect emergency call service, adding for all intents and purposes, 9-1-1 calls will go to the CACC in Kenora before being relayed to local fire and ambulance services or the OPP Comm Centre in Thunder Bay.
But the new provider also is expected to realize cost savings for the town. Because it was based on a per capita basis, the former service provided through the Dryden Police Service cost the town about $33,000 per year, plus some additional costs (like an Internet link to Dryden).
The current contract with the CACC is on a per call basis ($40 per call).
If 2009, for example, sees about as many emergency calls as last year, it will cost Fort Frances no more than $10,000.
“If it ends up being a very, very busy season, our costs could be a bit more,” Chief Armstrong conceded.
He noted Fort Frances joins nearly every other municipality and First Nation in the district, as well as regional communities like Ear Falls, Sioux Narrows, and Kenora, in having switched over to the CACC.
