Report recommends changes to Oliver Paipoonge fire stations

Residents of Oliver Paipoonge will have a chance to voice their opinions on some proposed changes to the municipality's volunteer fire department next month.

The municipality has scheduled two public open houses, where they'll provide information, and accept input, on a consultant report that assesses Oliver Paipoonge's six existing fire stations (the Intola, Murillo, Kakabeka, Stanley, Rosslyn, and Slate stations).

Wayne Hanchard, Oliver Paipoonge CAO and clerk, said the study came out of the municipality's 2023 fire master plan.

"In that, the consultants looked at the issue of the fire stations we have, and considered, are they the best locations, do we have the right number?" Hanchard said. "They recommended that we take a look further at the number of stations we have, and we ended up hiring them to do this."

The study also looked at the locations of the six stations, Hanchard said.

The report provided four options for the municipality to consider.

• Option one, which would involve closing the Intola station, keeping the stations at Murillo, Rosslyn, and Slate, and building a new station at Kakabeka/Stanley;
• Option two would see the closure of Intola, the consolidation of the Stanley and Kakabeka station into a single facility, and the closure of Rosslyn, which would be replaced with a new facility at the Oliver Paipoonge municipal offices;
• Option three, which would see the Kakabeka and Stanley stations remain in their current locations, the closure of the Intola and Slate stations, and the relocation of the Rosslyn station to the municipal offices, and
• Option four, which is keeping the status quo.

The consultant is recommending option two; Hanchard said the consultants believe the area currently served by the Intola station could be handled by other stations.

"They then thought we need to build a new station in the Rosslyn area, because the Rosslyn station is old and needs a lot of work that wouldn't be a reasonable investment," he said. "You need something better in the Rosslyn area. That's where the bulk of our population is, and our industry."

If the municipality does go ahead with option two — a final decision has not yet been made — the changes would come in phases, Hanchard said.

The report states the Intola station would be closed within a year of final approval, and the new Rosslyn station constructed at the municipal offices within three years.

The consolidation of the Kakabeka and Stanley stations would be longer-term, occurring within four to 10 years.

"Phase 3 is strategically timed to allow the Fire Chief and Council to evaluate the impact of the changes implemented in Phases 1 and 2," the report states.

Hanchard said the report is looking at the costs of running six fire stations, and balancing that against the impact on the fire service itself.

"The main issues you have with fire stations when you have six of them is you need to have fleet of vehicles," he said. "A pumper or a tanker in each station, and fire vehicles are costly."

There's also the question of staffing, he said.

"Do we have enough staff to staff six stations?" he said. "The way the fire professionals look at it, it's more important to have ... say three or four (firefighters) be able to come to a station and get on a truck than it is to have one guy go to a station and get one truck."

"If you have a lower number of stations, you'd have more firefighters per station."

The public meetings will take place from 4-8 p.m. on Monday, May 12 at the Rosslyn Community Hall, and from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 at the Murillo Community Hall.

The entire report can be read online.