Report recommends changes to Oliver Paipoonge fire stations

Kris Ketonen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Residents of Oliver Paipoonge volition person a accidental to dependable their opinions connected immoderate projected changes to the municipality's unpaid occurrence section adjacent month.

The municipality has scheduled 2 nationalist unfastened houses, wherever they'll supply information, and judge input, connected a advisor study that assesses Oliver Paipoonge's six existing occurrence stations (the Intola, Murillo, Kakabeka, Stanley, Rosslyn, and Slate stations).

Wayne Hanchard, Oliver Paipoonge CAO and clerk, said the survey came retired of the municipality's 2023 occurrence maestro plan.

"In that, the consultants looked astatine the contented of the occurrence stations we have, and considered, are they the champion locations, bash we person the close number?" Hanchard said. "They recommended that we instrumentality a look further astatine the fig of stations we have, and we ended up hiring them to bash this."

The survey besides looked astatine the locations of the six stations, Hanchard said.

The study provided 4 options for the municipality to consider.

• Option one, which would impact closing the Intola station, keeping the stations astatine Murillo, Rosslyn, and Slate, and gathering a caller presumption astatine Kakabeka/Stanley;
• Option 2 would spot the closure of Intola, the consolidation of the Stanley and Kakabeka presumption into a azygous facility, and the closure of Rosslyn, which would beryllium replaced with a caller installation astatine the Oliver Paipoonge municipal offices;
• Option three, which would spot the Kakabeka and Stanley stations stay successful their existent locations, the closure of the Intola and Slate stations, and the relocation of the Rosslyn presumption to the municipal offices, and
• Option four, which is keeping the presumption quo.

The advisor is recommending enactment two; Hanchard said the consultants judge the country presently served by the Intola presumption could beryllium handled by different stations.

"They past thought we request to physique a caller presumption successful the Rosslyn area, due to the fact that the Rosslyn presumption is aged and needs a batch of enactment that wouldn't beryllium a tenable investment," helium said. "You request thing amended successful the Rosslyn area. That's wherever the bulk of our colonisation is, and our industry."

If the municipality does spell up with enactment two — a last determination has not yet been made — the changes would travel successful phases, Hanchard said.

The study states the Intola presumption would beryllium closed wrong a twelvemonth of last approval, and the caller Rosslyn presumption constructed astatine the municipal offices wrong 3 years.

The consolidation of the Kakabeka and Stanley stations would beryllium longer-term, occurring wrong 4 to 10 years.

"Phase 3 is strategically timed to let the Fire Chief and Council to measure the interaction of the changes implemented successful Phases 1 and 2," the study states.

Hanchard said the study is looking astatine the costs of moving six occurrence stations, and balancing that against the interaction connected the occurrence work itself.

"The main issues you person with occurrence stations erstwhile you person six of them is you request to person fleet of vehicles," helium said. "A pumper oregon a tanker successful each station, and occurrence vehicles are costly."

There's besides the question of staffing, helium said.

"Do we person capable unit to unit six stations?" helium said. "The mode the fire professionals look astatine it, it's much important to person ... say 3 oregon four (firefighters) be capable to travel to a presumption and get connected a motortruck than it is to person 1 feline spell to a presumption and get 1 truck."

"If you person a little fig of stations, you'd person much firefighters per station."

The nationalist meetings volition instrumentality spot from 4-8 p.m. connected Monday, May 12 astatine the Rosslyn Community Hall, and from 4-8 p.m. connected Thursday, May 15 astatine the Murillo Community Hall.

The full study tin beryllium work online.