The town of Amherstburg has planned to update a plan to improve efficiency in its fire department.
Town councillors voted 5-2 Monday night to request that the administration focus its efforts on updating fire coverage to a two-station model, rather than a three-station model. The logistics and costs for both ideas were examined at this week's meeting.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that it was important for residents to understand that no decision was made on cost for fire stations, but rather an agreement on which way to move forward.
"Now they'll be in a better position to drill down the cost to a more accurate level, let's say, because it was generalized in the past, knowing that there are possibly two or three models they might have had to look at," said DiCarlo.
DiCarlo said the purpose of the vote was to guide Fire Chief Bruce Montone on planning for a two-station model. The mayor, who voted in favour of a two-station focus, said it all had to do with reducing response times, rather than adjusting fire coverage.
"One of the difficult things with a three-station model is that we probably would've needed more [firefighters]," said DiCarlo. "So the two-station model keeps the amount of firefighters we have, while better dispersing them from better-centralized locations."
According to the report, the two-station option involved the town demolishing Fire Station 2 on Middle Side Road and building a new facility on the same site. Fire Station 3 on Concession 6 South and Fire Station 1 on Sandwich Street would be decommissioned. Staff would be relocated to the new fire hall on Middle Side Road, and a second station would be built at the Libro Centre. The report estimated the cost of that option at $8-million.
The administration will now take the two-station option and re-examine it in terms of cost. Once that is complete, an updated report will be presented to councillors.
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
