The LaSalle Fire Service is moving to a three station operating model.
Town Council has approved a plan that includes the existing headquarters station on Normandy St., a west substation at 2160 Front Rd., and an east substation on Laurier Parkway in the area of Disputed Road.
The expansion plan was approved to meet current and future growth in LaSalle.
The goal is to have the first substation constructed and operational sometime in 2025, while 2031 has been set as a target for second substation on Laurier Parkway, but that could be adjusted if needed based on future growth in LaSalle.
Fire chief Ed Thiessen says they are currently providing service to the entire Town of LaSalle.
"It's with these additional stations that we can get there quicker and with more firefighters, in a more timely manner. We are currently providing service but we want to provide an improved service to our municipality," he says.
The National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1710 guideline requires that fire apparatus and four firefighters arrive on-scene within four minutes. With a three station model, 87% of the Town's urban area will be provided initial coverage within four minutes. This is well above the provincial average for municipalities which is in the range of 72% for urban geography. It is also above the 75% coverage target for municipalities.
Chief Thiessen says getting to an emergency quicker is the end goal of this project.
"Can you image that if someone is having a heart attack and waiting four minutes or eight minutes for the fire service or EMS service to respond, that can seem like an eternity," he says.
Currently, LaSalle Fire Service is a composite fire department with 12 full-time firefighters and 32 volunteer (paid-on-call) firefighters.
The three fire station model is based on moving towards staffing each location with full-time firefighters. As new fire stations are opened, the target of four full-time firefighters at each location will be achieved over time. The financial plan transitions from two full-time firefighters to four full-time firefighters at each station location over a number of years.
The financial plan considers both the capital and operational requirements of the fire master plan and begins with a $200,000 increase which was approved as part of the 2022 budget followed by a $25,000 incremental increase each year over a period of 10 years. This amounts to an annual municipal tax rate impact range of 0.52% in 2022 to 0.75% in 2031 over the 10-year period.