West Nipissing considers closing or amalgamating some fire stations

Fire Master Plan recommends closing or merging Cache Bay, Verner, Lavigne fire halls.

Last week council received a presentation from consultants who were hired to conduct a Fire Master Plan. In February, council awarded a contract for $64,335 plus HST to BEHR Integrated Solutions Inc. to undertake a review of it’s fire and emergency services.

The report came with a number of recommendations to make West Nipissing Fire and Emergency Services (WNFES) more efficient and effective while enhancing firefighter safety.

Currently West Nipissing has nine fire halls (or stations). The recommendations would see the closure of four stations.

It is recommended that Station 3 (Tomiko Lake) be permanently closed and while covering the area from Station 2 (Crystal Falls). It is also recommended that Station 9 (Cache Bay) be permanently closed and serviced from Station 1 (the main firehall at city hall).

Another recommendation is that West Nipissing explore an agreement with the municipality of French River to cover the North Monetville area and that Station 8 (North Monetville) be permanently closed.

Lastly, the consultants advised that the fire halls in Verner and Lavigne (Stations 6 and 7) be closed while adding a new fire fall in between these two communities.

Other recommendations involved establishing complete job descriptions for the various roles within WNFES, updating municipal bylaws and developing a plan for having a minimum of two firefighters on duty 24/7.

Council agreed to consider these recommendations on a phased approach and will hold further discussions in the future before finalizing and decisions.

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