Town, partners restore full fire service after fire hall blaze

East Gwillimbury Era
Feb. 27, 2014
By Virginia Hackson

Protecting public safety is a top priority for the town.

It requires constant vigilance and investment in the proper resources.

These are always of utmost importance and they have been matters of particular concern for us during the past 11 months.

That’s why we made a deliberate budget decision to increase our emergency services in 2014.

The Mount Albert fire station was destroyed by fire Feb. 2.

Flames overtook the entire building as well as all the firefighting equipment and vehicles inside.

The irony is not lost on anyone when firefighters had to watch their own station burn to the ground.

It was ironic - and it was tragic.

Fortunately, no one was hurt and the equipment can be replaced.

Our firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes and, before the event was over, more than 50 members of our emergency services team were engaged in fighting the fire and preventing damage to adjacent structures.

While these resources were occupied trying to fight the fire, residents of East Gwillimbury were still fully protected.

Our Queensville and Holland Landing stations remained ready and fully functional.

As further backup, crews from Georgina, Whitchurch-Stouffville, King and Central York were on standby, ready to respond to any other emergency in the east end of town while our crews were occupied.

Our firefighters responded admirably to this overwhelming emergency and we are proud and appreciative as always of their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to protect our safety.

Looking to the future, residents of all corners of East Gwillimbury continue to be protected by the fire stations and crews in Queensville and Holland Landing.

In addition, an interim station has been established and is fully operational at 5866 Doane Rd., in partnership with York Region, in a facility adjacent to the region’s water pollution control plant.

This station is operational with replacement equipment including trucks and all the gear our firefighters need to continue to do their jobs.

York Region’s EMS station in Mount Albert was minimally affected by the fire and has been quickly put back into operation.

The long-term solution is to rebuild the Mount Albert fire station at a location yet to be determined.

Plans are already underway and this will be a priority for council.

We are grateful to our neighbouring municipalities for their support.

The fact we have all pulled together to find a solution to this challenge is a testament to the strength of our partnerships with our municipal partners and York Region.

Our town council and staff are very proud of our emergency services department and we continue to be inspired by the courageous efforts of our firefighters, both full-time and part-time.

They stand strong in any emergency, protecting our residents and carrying on through adversity with the ongoing challenges of protection, public safety and education.