KAWARTHA LAKES-Emotions were running high a town hall meeting to discuss the future of the Oakwood and Little Britain Fire Halls tonight.
The Fire Chief, Mayor and City CAO were all on hand to announce that the Oakwood fire Hall is slated for closure and a new Fire Hall is being proposed for Little Britain. Chief Mark Pankhurst said all the the studies they have done say this is the best move. “The Fire Station consolidation will ensure the continuation of efficient, effective and sustainable Fire Services.”
There were about 100 people at the meeting, held at the Little Britain Community Hall. Many residents expressed anger at the impending closure. One resident was crying when she told the crowd she had recently witnessed an accident and the fire department arrived about five minutes before the ambulance. She said those five minutes meant life and death for a man injured in the crash who was unconscious and not breathing. “Now that won’t happen” she said. “He’s dead.”
But Chief Pankhurst assured the crowd that the move posed no threat to public safety saying, “I live in this community, if I thought there was a threat I wouldn’t do it”
A number of other residents also expressed concern about the potential increase in response times. Patty Grieves, a resident of Oakwood for 37 years challenged Chief Mark Pankhursts response time of 11 minutes. She says it will take five minutes alone for the firefighters to get from Oakwood to Little Britain, then five minutes to get their gear ready and another five minutes at least to the fire. Â Thats 15 minutes vs the 11 minutes Pankhurst said the time would be. Pankhurst explained that not all the firefighters would have to travel from Oakwood to Little Britain, some are already living in Little Britain.
One resident called out, “Don’t bother coming, my house will burn down.”
The estimated cost of the new Fire Hall is $1.6 million dollars and will be located at Salem and Eldon Road, in the old public works depot. A few people balked at the cost with one pointing out that renovating the existing two halls would only cost about $500,000. Another man became quite angry saying “council is spending like drunken sailors”. To which the crowd cheered. The report shows a savings over 30 years.
Pankhurst told the crowd the move is about more than money. “Most importantly the consolidation is not just about financial savings. The goal is to reinvest savings across the city to enhance fire services such as fire privation, public education, training of firefighters and other technological improvements.”
One man said his insurance will increase by about $300 a year because he will no longer have a fire hall within 15 km.
There are currently 20 fire stations in CKL and 15 part time firefighters at each with the exception of Lindsay who has full time staff.
If the move is passed by council, the new fire hall is expected to open some time in 2020.
