Stouffville looking to expand full municipal servicing to Gormley following fire

Yorkregion.com
October 23, 2020

A fire in Gormley last month at Don Mills Steel and Metal has brought forward public safety concerns for Whitchurch-Stouffville council in the area. On Sept. 21, an accidental fire occurred at the scrap yard on Woodbine Avenue.

The Gormley fire suppression system worked well during this fire, according to a town report. However, the system was drained six and a half hours into the fire. The fire department had to shuttle water from the closest fire hydrant on Woodbine Avenue in Markham.

Fire staff have estimated that approximately 1.9 million litres of water was utilized to put the fire out, which is approximately 1.13 million litres more than the capacity of the fire suppression system.

“Water is a challenge in the area,” Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon said. “I’m firmly of the belief the region needs to understand the problem lack of water poses.”

Gormley is serviced by a non-potable fire suppression system, which new developments have the option of connecting to. According to the town, the system is under increased capacity pressure as more industrial development occurs in Gormley.

Even as industrial operations pick up in the area, the current provincial planning framework does not allow water or wastewater services from a Great Lakes source to be extended to the Gormley Industrial Secondary Plan Area.

Kroon said there is a very easy fix to the problem, which would be connecting to neighbouring Richmond Hill and Markham’s water and wastewater.

“Since we have started the process on this with regional staff, they have certainly acknowledged there is a problem,” Kroon said. While money is often brought up as a reason not to do something, Kroon said, it is far more expensive in terms of loss of life and property not to do anything.

According to town staff report, the main concerns revolve around the limited volume of water that the system can provide. Much of the new development in Gormley is of an industrial nature, and thus, there are more large facilities, some of which contain high-piled storage, which leads to a large fuel load and higher sprinkler demand.

The poor recovery time to fill the tanks once they have been depleted is also problematic, leaving the community vulnerable from a safety perspective and the municipality vulnerable to risk should another fire occur before the tanks refill.

Mayor Iain Lovatt brought his concerns on the matter to regional council earlier this month, where he said he would be asking the province to extend Great Lakes water on the basis of health and safety.

“It created a tremendous issue for the local fire department,” he said. “They were tinkering in water from the Honda plant for 12 hours.”

In total, 180 tanker loads were shuttled to fight the fire. Other challenges town staff identified with the current system include no backup system, being susceptible to power failure, water distribution, site limitations and future development in the area.   

The fire suppression system is only the latest issue in the town’s look to develop the Gormley area for employment.

Lovatt, along with other region council, voted earlier this month to ask the province to open up parts of the greenbelt along 400-series highways to development.

Stouffville is targeting three locations along Highway 404 -- at Stouffville Road, Aurora Road and Davis Drive -- for employment, he said.

It would be a game-changer, providing 26,000 jobs and more than $62 million in new taxes.

“I believe there’s a fine balance that needs to be found between local municipal financial viability and managing the burden on local taxpayers while maintaining the importance and improving the Greenbelt,” Lovatt said.      

Kroon said even if the town wasn't looking to create a special development area in Gormley, the fire suppression system would still be a major issue.

Town council is set to deliberate asking York Region to extend full municipal services to Gormley area Oct. 20. Cost estimates are not known at this time.