Orillia firefighters say one station consistently being closed is unsafe for the city

Firefighters in Orillia are canvasing the community today to draw attention to something they say is becoming a growing safety concern for everyone in the city.

Firefighters in Orillia, Ont., are canvassing the community on Monday to draw attention to something they say is becoming a growing safety concern for everyone in the city.

Since August, local firefighters say they have consistently been dealing with one of only two fire stations in the city being closed for days on end because of staffing issues.

Fred LeBlanc, thirteenth district vice-president for the International Association of Fire Fighters, says Station Two has been closed at least 20 times since August, leading to safety concerns for everyone in the community when responding to emergencies with only four firefighters per station.

“So when an emergency comes in Station One’s area, the entire city is waiting for those firefighters,” says LeBlanc.

“If the caller is out in Station Two’s area on a day in which it’s closed, it takes Station One double the response time to get out here. What could have been maybe a smaller incident that was mitigated by a faster response is now a much bigger incident, and now we’re dealing with people’s homes rather than maybe our kitchen or a room that was on fire.”

LeBlanc says this poses a risk to the public and the firefighters on duty, who need more support when responding to larger incidents.

When asked what led to the closure, LeBlanc says it’s an issue with staffing and not enough firefighters being hired to fill in for those on long-term leave or off on vacation.

But he says it’s a staffing issue that could easily be solved by approving more overtime and also bringing in firefighters on a temporary basis.