Barrie’s southwest corner –where there are thousands of homes and a cluster of schools – isn’t receiving the Ontario, or city, standard in fire protection.

The Ontario Fire Marshal advocates a standard of “10 firefighters on the scene within 10 minutes.” (It translates into three trucks on the scene.)

But, according to a draft Fire Master Plan, Barrie’s Holly area is not receiving that protection, nor is the city’s extreme northwest.

“There are a couple of areas of concern – Ward 7 and the northwest. One of our immediate goals is another station,” said Coun. John Brassard, chairperson of the city’s Community Services Committee.

The southwest coverage standards stops near Mapleton Avenue and leaves schools including Bear Creek Secondary, St. Nicholas and Timothy Christian uncovered; in the north, Emma King and the Good Shepherd, West Bayfield and St. Marguerite d’Youville are left out.

The city’s plan was to open a fifth station in 2011; but after assessing the fire department’s ability to respond, the fire master plan committee (which Brassard is on and which reports to Community Services) is recommending Station 5 be built in 2010.

“Finding land is a challenge right now. Ideally, we would put a fire station and a training facility next to it,” said Brassard, acknowledging sending crews to Pearson Airport in Toronto or to the Ontario Fire College in Muskoka drives up overtime costs and limits training opportunities.

The report also identified a growing need for training, as the city attracts a wider array of industries and businesses, as well as more townhomes and high-rises.

But a station alone requires two acres, and a training facility boosts that requirement to eight to10 acres, explained fire chief John Lynn.
“It’s a multi-functional facility, so there would be a burn tower, which we set fires in. There’d be a four-to-five storey high rise, where we’d practise rappelling and high-rise firefighting. There’d be a driver’s course and extrication area. It’s really a multifunctional facility,” the chief explained.

The city could also rent the facility to other fire departments – which would boost the skills of Mutual Aid crews; with many made up of volunteers, neighbouring municipal fire departments don’t have the skills to fight more-complex fires that involve chemicals or evacuations of large numbers of people, the report noted.

As it is now, however, there isn’t a site in the southwest, said Brassard – although that could change if Barrie’s borders change, as Ontario proposes. Barrie would get land that includes Salem Road and extends just past Line 10 of Innisfil, from County Road 27 in the west to Huronia Road in the east.

“The key is to provide a circle of coverage to enforce the 10 firefighters on the scene in 10 minutes policy. (The station) could be further south. It doesn’t have to be at Essa and Mapleview,” Brassard said.