Greater Sudbury community worried volunteer fire hall will close

A group of citizens in Skead are worried their local volunteer fire station is facing permanent closure.

As the city reviews sweeping changes involving the consolidation of paramedic and fire stations in many outlying areas, there are concerns about responses times residents say will put lives and properties at greater risk.

Greater Sudbury officials confirmed that the Skead fire station has been not been in operation since last January due to structural damage after a fire truck hit an exterior wall.

A recent staff report recommended consolidating it with the Garson station permanently.

Residents are rallying to keep the station open, including a petition with more than 400 signatures.

“The standard for fire response is four to seven minutes on average,” said Nicole Everest, of the Save Our Fire Hall Committee.

“Whereas a drive from Garson is going to be in the area of 30-60 minutes to respond to any kind of fire or any critical event that occurs out here in Skead.”

The committee admits there is only one volunteer from the Skead station right now. That's why it's organizing a volunteer firefighter recruitment fair that will include free CPR and First Aid training. They said14 people in the area have expressed interest.

“It's the biggest inner city lake in the world and yet we don't even have a rescue boat any more -- it was taken away,” Everest said.

“So there is huge issues here in terms of how we protect our community and have our citizens feel safe.”

Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbee put a motion forward for public consultations on the possible closures or mergers of fire/paramedic stations.

“The open houses are important because it's an opportunity for residents to come and talk to experts in the field about their concerns and what is going on with this report,” Labbee said.

The Save Our Fire Hall Committee is planning on presenting ideas at the public consultation. One is suggesting making provincial training rules -- which includes 300 hours for volunteer firefighters -- less stringent and training sessions more flexible.