A report presented by Centre Wellington Fire Chief Brad Patton on Nov. 20 recommends council consider a long-term strategy to increase its complement of firefighters by 60% and to add a third fire station in Aboyne.
The proposed model, part of the township’s fire master plan, would retain the volunteer firefighter model while keeping full-time staff to a minimum.
“I think we have put forward a very effective plan,” said Steve Thurlow of Dillon Consulting, who led discussion of the report on the master plan.
Most of the presentation focused on the number of firefighters and the potential number of fire halls.
Existing situation
Currently the township has an overall complement of 60 firefighters, using a scheduled on-call system where four to five firefighters are available at each fire station on a regular basis.
In addition, there are four full-time staff working within the Fergus and Elora stations.
Thurlow added the Centre Wellington department is envied by Dillon’s clients for its ability to sustain the volunteer firefighter model effectively.
He explained one of the goals of the study is to examine how to get six firefighters to the scene of an incident within 14 minutes.
Thurlow said GIS mapping was used to indicate how that could be achieved within Centre Wellington using station location.
A second mapping model presented to council looked at how the department could get 10 firefighters on scene within 14 minutes.
Thurlow, who said he considers both important benchmarks, noted all options in the report include implementing a two-deputy chief model.
“We strongly believe that is an important part of the sustainability moving forward,” he said.
Another is implementing a full-time fire inspector and life safety educator, in addition to using volunteers on the life safety educator side.
He stressed part of the plan includes looking at the projected growth of the community over the next 10 years. The plan also seeks to enhance recruitment and retention strategies for volunteer firefighters.
Another major change would be negotiation of a new, more effective dispatch agreement instead of using volunteer firefighters to staff dispatch consoles at either fire station. Thurlow stressed the department does need to pat itself on the back in terms of turnout time for volunteers. While part of that is thanks to on-call firefighters at the station, Thurlow attributed a large part of the quick response times to the dedication of volunteers.
Option one
The first option presented in the Dillon Consulting report would see the overall number of firefighters increase 20%, from 60 to 72, to permit an increase of scheduled on-call people per station.
Full-time staff would increase to five through the appointment of two deputy fire chiefs, though the two fire stations would remain in their current locations.
Thurlow said one issue discussed is that both fire halls are on the south of the Grand River, while much of the proposed residential development is slated for the north side of the river.
Option two
As such, the main difference in option two is the relocation of the Elora fire hall to an area near Mill Street East between Gerrie Road and Kertland Street.
Thurlow said the change, which would cost about $2.25 million, could significantly decrease response times in a large portion of the township.
Option three
Option three includes a 60% increase in the number of firefighters, from 60 to 96.
Full-time staff would still be increased to five and on-call staff would be increased to a minimum of 16 volunteer firefighters.
This option looks at a three-station model, keeping the Elora station at its existing location (but altering it to a satellite station) and adding a new $4-million station in Aboyne in the area of Gerrie Road, Beatty Line and Colborne Street.
Thurlow said this is something the township may not get to in the next three to five years, but it should consider it over the next decade.
“You might want to consider the third station become the department headquarters with the capacity for services other than fire suppression,” he said, adding this model would provide two stations south of the Grand River and one to the north.
“We think this is the optimal approach for the way this community is going to grow,” said Thurlow.
He explained operating costs for options one and two are the same and based on the increased number of volunteers. With a third station, “the number goes up to almost double.” As for capital costs, Thurlow said some of that increase would be related to additional protective gear for firefighters.
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen, noting the potential for decreased response times surrounding Elora, asked if anything could be similarly achieved in Fergus.
Thurlow said traffic patterns play a big role in Fergus response times and he noted the Fergus station responds to a more densely populated area.
He again suggested the three-station model would provide the best coverage for the community.
Council subsequently approved a resolution to:
– receive the Fire Master Plan as the framework for the delivery of fire protection services over the next 10 years; and
– direct staff to implement the options presented in the Fire Master Plan in accordance with the resources available in annual budgets.
Patton’s report had recommended implementing option one and creating long-term strategies for the implementation of option three.
