Off‐duty professional fire fighters are going door to door in Orillia’s north end today to ensure citizens are aware of significant public safety shortfalls resulting from city council’s decision to close Fire Station 2 on Commerce Rd. on a regular basis during certain staffing shortages.
When Station 2 is closed, it takes fire fighters significantly longer to arrive on scene to help people during structure fires, medical emergencies like heart attacks and other serious emergencies. Station 2 was closed well more than a dozen times since August, when the city decided to shutter the location instead of calling in off‐duty fire fighters to provide coverage or hire temporary fire fighters to fill in these gaps at straight time pay.
When the city closes Station 2, the current response time in Westridge and north Orillia doubles when people are in need, as crews now have to come from Station 1 in the city’s south end. If Stanton 1 crews are tied up due to an existing emergency, response times increase across the entire city.
Fred LeBlanc, a senior official with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) who is leading the public awareness campaign, says citizens have a right to know what level of service they will receive – or not – when they call 9‐1-1 due to an emergency in their home or elsewhere in the city.
LeBlanc says the city has so far ignored calls to restore fast, guaranteed response in the north end, stating the city’s main response has been to call for another fire service review, which could take months or longer. He also condemns the city’s position that the fire fighters’ actions are some kind of tactic in advance of contract negotiations.
“This is a public and fire fighter safety issue, period. It has nothing whatsoever to do with contract negotiations that are months away,” LeBlanc said. “It is extremely disingenuous and disappointing that the city would attempt to portray this as a labour dispute when they’re jeopardizing their citizens’ safety by making them wait twice as long for help to arrive at their door during a fire or medical emergency.”
LeBlanc also notes that the city rejected his request to appear before an upcoming council meeting to discuss the issue, thus denying the public and the media a full and formal airing of the issue.
As long as Station 2 closures persist, LeBlanc urges citizens to exercise extra caution when it comes to fire safety in their homes, for example when cooking and when using candles and smoking materials. Fire fighters also urge residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms on every floor and to practice exit drills.
