Emergency fire coverage will soon be more complete in south-east Barrie.
Acting Fire Chief Derek Wilson and Mayor Alex Nuttall were at 845 Mapleview Dr. E. early Monday afternoon for the ground-breaking ceremony at the future site of Fire Station 6.
“The fire station will be an important addition to the southeast of our city,” Wilson said. “It will ensure the residents have the exceptional level of service the men and women of Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) provide them. With an eye to sustainable building and operation, this facility will be a centre piece for the community for years to come.”
Nuttall said this fire station has been on the city’s radar for more than a decade.
“It has obviously been a long time coming,” he said. “We identified the south-east corner needing a fire station somewhere around 2013-14. So here we are a decade later and it’s coming to life.”
Nuttall noted another fire station would help BFES respond to weather incidents like the July 15, 2021 tornado that touched down in this part of Barrie.
Construction of the new fire station is expected to take approximately 14 to 18 months. The building permit for the facility has been issued, the construction fence has been installed there and site work is now underway. It’s anticipated to be both complete and operational in mid-2025.
BFES’s sixth station will be on 1.8 acres at the corner of Prince William Way and Mapleview Drive East.
The station carries an $11.9-million cost — approximately 30 per cent for the land, 60 per cent for facility design, construction and fittings, plus 10 per cent for firefighter apparatus and equipment. It will be about 9,000 square feet, with approximately 4,000 square feet for the apparatus bay and 5,000 square feet for the living quarters.
One aerial fire truck will operate out of Station 6, however the apparatus bay will have a second bay to accommodate a spare aerial truck. Station 6 will be similar in size to BFES Stations 3 and 4.
It’s to primarily serve the Hewitt’s secondary plan area, Wilson said, but will also enhance the service to some existing areas in southeast Barrie.
“With intensification, and an added road network, this station will be required so we can meet our (city) council mandated six-minute road travel time 90 per cent of the time in these new developments,” he said.
Fire Station 6’s new aerial truck is budgeted separately from the station, Wilson said, and costs approximately $900,000 (US).
“It is currently being built. We do not have an exact delivery date yet, but it will arrive here prior to the opening of Station 6,” he said.
A total of 20 firefighters will be hired to staff the new fire station, six this year and 14 in 2025. The new station will support a crew of five staff per shift.
Nuttall also noted the new fire station will have modern features.
“It’s been designed with sustainability in mind,” he said. “It’s featuring energy efficient systems, all electric infrastructure and it’s ready for a solar energy integration at the appropriate time.
“It will be equipped with modern fire fighting equipment and technology, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency services in our community,” the mayor said.
BFES currently has 187 full-time staff and five part-timers in five branches — administration, operations, fire prevention and public education, communications, professionalism standards and emergency management.
Approximately 96 per cent of BFES total expenditures are for salaries and benefits.
The annual BFES budget is approximately $31 million, Wilson said.
Funding for the new station comes mostly from development charge (DC) reserves. DCs are designed to recover the capital costs associated with residential and non-residential growth within Barrie from developers, so that existing residents don’t have to foot the bill.
Barrie has five fire stations — Station No. 1 at 155 Dunlop St. W. has a pumper, a rescue and an aerial truck; Station No. 2 at 15 Bell Farm Rd. has a rescue truck; Station No. 3 at 340 Big Bay Point Rd. has an aerial truck; Station No. 4 at 250 Ardagh Rd. has a pumper truck; and Station No. 5 at 360 King St. has a rescue truck.
