New halls proposed under $20M Georgina Fire Department master plan

YorkRegion.com
Nov. 29, 2016
Heidi Riedner

Future growth will drive an increase in call volumes and require new and additional stations across the board for Georgina’s fire department, according to the authors of the fire service’s master plan adopted in principle at council last week.

Based on growth projections, the town should consider building a new headquarters to the northeast of the current Keswick hall’s location and build a smaller station to the south where future commercial and industrial growth is anticipated.

Construction and relocation of Georgina’s aging station network within the next 10 years, as well as much needed repairs in the short term, form the bulk of 58 recommendations in a 203-page report prepared by Emergency Management and Training Inc. projecting $20 million in future growth investment and $500,000 in immediate upgrades for the department.

“The fire stations for the most part have been well located and have served the community as best as possible, but with the growth of the community and its fire department, along with increase in staffing and equipment, the three fire stations have become less efficient in meeting the growing demands of the fire service,” the report states.

“Council has the choice of spending more money on buildings that are showing their age and will need some major repairs to simply make them livable for the next five years or they can look at the long term, coupled with the anticipated growth projections, and prepare for this growth by building new facilities as funding allows.”

The priority would be to focus on the construction of the south-end fire station, which could be built in conjunction with the Multi-Use Recreational Complex, first, within a one- to three-year timeline at an estimated cost of $3.9 million.

That would provide a four-minute response time for current residents, as well as the planned growth of 6,000 new homes bringing 15,000 additional people plus additional commercial and industrial development in to the area, according to the consultants.

Replacing the current hall with “numerous building repair and maintenance issues as a result of the age of the building” at five corners with a new, more central, northern location that would serve as the department’s headquarters would follow within a seven- to 10-year time frame and at an estimated cost of $7.8 million.

A $3.9-million firefighter training centre to be built at one of the two proposed Keswick stations was also recommended.

Relocating the Sutton fire station to the area of Dalton Road and Black River within the next four to six years, at an estimated cost of $3.9 million, would offer “a more efficient response location and also put the fire station in an area that is more accessible by the public.”

The replacement or major upgrade to the tune of $3.9 million for the Pefferlaw hall “should be a priority and addressed within the short term,” according to the consultants.

The master plan is the culmination of three individual reports, including the fire station review, the fire underwriters review and the overarching fire master plan document.