PUSLINCH – The Puslinch Fire Department has a “handful of years” to continue using a volunteer firefighter model before it will have to change its service delivery model.
Interim chief Brad Bigrigg told council at a special meeting on Nov. 10 that while there are 40 volunteer firefighters with the department, it is becoming increasingly difficult to respond to emergencies in a timely way, especially during the business week.
“It’s not a dire circumstance, but I think we have three or four more years with this model,” Bigrigg said.
Most rural communities that use a volunteer firefighter model are in the same situation, he added.
Because more people commute to work, it takes more time for firefighters to get to the station and then to the emergency.
And for fully involved fires, firefighters can’t go in a building until a full complement of firefighters and equipment has arrived at the scene.
Puslinch is in a unique situation in that while it is mostly a rural community, it has a large industrial area, which requires a different kind of firefighting than residential.
And it also responds to emergencies on Highway 401.
“There are 100,000 cars on the 401 every day. That generates call volumes,” Bigrigg said.
The 401 also causes headaches when there are accidents or construction, as detour routes often hamper access to the fire hall for firefighters trying to get there and for fire trucks trying to leave.
And construction of the Morriston bypass on Highway 6 is about to begin, first with a new mid-block interchange along the Hanlon Expressway and then on- and off-ramps from the 401 to the new bypass.
“I have concerns when construction starts. And I have concerns with industrial and our ability to fight a fire during the day,” Bigrigg said.
But in terms of updating the Fire Master Plan or changing the service model, “I would like to wait until the 401 (construction) is done,” he said.
“We have a handful of years. But we may need an interim solution.”
PUSLINCH TOWNSHIP FIRE HALL (Advertiser file photo)
Satellite station
Bigrigg also recommended not building a second satellite fire station at this time, as was recommended in the Fire Master Plan.
That plan, last updated in 2015, found the best location for a satellite to be at Concession 2 and Sideroad 10 South, which is near Puslinch Lake.
The existing fire hall is on Wellington County Road 34 between the Hanlon Expressway and Highway 6.
Bigrigg estimated it would cost about $4.5 million to build a station, $400,000 in operational costs the first year, and then about $285,000 per year after that. It would also require another 30 volunteer firefighters.
Councillor Jessica Goyda pointed out the township would likely have to take a loan to do it, so interest payments must be factored in as well, she said.
And a new fire hall would also have to be incorporated into the asset management plan.
“And the end result would be similar to response times now. To me, the economics of a second station doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Bigrigg said there are new building code requirements and accessibility requirements that mean a satellite station has to be more like a standalone facility than merely a place to store firefighting apparatus.
Fire protection agreement with Cambridge fire
Bigrigg also asked council to approve signing a fire protection agreement with Cambridge and to explore drafting one with Guelph as well.
Cambridge and Guelph both have full-time, fully-staffed fire departments.
“Cambridge seems amenable to picking up an area in Puslinch,” he said.
“Guelph seems reluctant until our daytime response capabilities improve.”
Puslinch has historically had an agreement with Cambridge Fire for the area bordered by Highway 401, Townline Road, Gore Road and Sideroad 10 South on the south-western edge of the township.
In 2021 Puslinch budgeted $138,000 for the service and the draft agreement indicates about the same in subsequent years: $140,000 in 2022, $142,100 in 2023 and $144,232 in 2024.
Council voted unanimously:
- to defer building a second fire station;
- to enter a three-year fire protection agreement with Cambridge Fire; and
- for Bigrigg to bring back a report on alternate service delivery options at a future date.
