PHOTO INFORMATION: Whitewater Region has proudly received the keys to the latest addition of the Fire Services Fleet in Westmeath. The new $330,000 Tandem Axle Fire
Truck Pumper Tanker was built by Eastway Emergency Vehicles in Carleton Place. On hand for the presentation were, from left, Deputy-Fire Chief Mike Moore, Fire Chief Wayne Heubner, Eastway President Neil Greene, Mayor Jim Labow, Deputy Mayor Izett McBride,Fire Committee Chair Councillor Cathy Regier, Councillor Allen Dick and
Councillor Joey Trimm. Photo submitted
by Connie Tabbert
Editor
COBDEN — Whitewater Region Township’s newest fire truck is a 2014 pumper tanker and it’s stationed at the Westmeath fire hall.
The truck arrived in mid-June, but it wasn’t until about two weeks after arrival before it was ready to use. And that’s because the firefighters needed to be trained on it so they would be familiar with it when at a fire.
Staff from Eastway Emergency Vehicles in Carleton Place spent three days of intense training throughout a two week period, Chief Wayne Heubner said.
This newest truck replaced two trucks at the Westmeath station—a pumper and a rescue, he said. Those two vehicles, along with three other fire department vehicles are now ready for the auction block, he said. The other three vehicles are Deputy-Chief Mike Moore’s van, a tanker and the rescue truck from Cobden.
Chief Heubner said the township paid for the new truck and over the next three years, the fire department pays back the money. He expects this process could be repeated in three years, when a new truck could then be scheduled to be purchased for the Foresters Falls fire hall.
The chief and deputy-chief each received new-to-them fire trucks earlier this year. The chief is driving a 2005 half-ton, which is 10 years newer than the truck he was driving, and the deputy-chief is driving a 2008 van, which is eight years newer than the van he was driving.
“My half-ton is used for fire prevention,” he said adding, “It’s my office on wheels.”
The chief’s former vehicle is now the fire department’s forestry fire equipment truck, which is stationed at Westmeath. Since the Ministry of Natural Resources disbanded its forest fire fighting section in Pembroke, Whitewater fire department is responsible for crown and private forest fire fighting, the chief said. The township is paid a certain amount each year from the MNR, he added.
Whitewater’s complement of fire vehicles in five stations – Cobden, Haley, Foresters Falls, Westmeath and Beachburg — is two fire trucks each in Cobden, Haley Station and Beachburg and one each in Foresters Falls and Westmeath. The chief and deputy-chief’s vehicles aren’t counted as fire trucks because they aren’t used to fight fires, Chief Heubner said. Since amalgamation, the number of fire trucks has been reduced to eight from 12, which is also a savings in maintenance costs of about $25,000.
There are also about 70 firefighters, he said. The township’s bylaw states there can be anywhere from 73 to 77 firefighters, he added, plus himself and the deputy-chief.
As well as doing fire suppression in Whitewater Region, and first responders for fires as far away as Pine Valley in Admaston/Bromley Township, Chief Heubner noted firefighters are called out to accidents, not only for fire suppression but extrication. Cobden and Haley Station fire halls are responsible for extrication in the township, he said. As well, the current extrication map for Renfrew County has Whitewater firefighters being on-call for extrication as far away as Kelly’s Corner in Admaston/Bromley Township and the back-country section of Laurentian Valley near Micksburg.
When firefighters are called to an accident on Hwy. 17, Chief Heubner noted he bills the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
This year’s fire department budget was struck at $729,582.
Chief Heubner addressed the question of does Whitewater need five fire halls, since it was a question at the recent all-candidates meeting in Westmeath.
“I’ve heard the comment that we’re over protected,” he said. “I don’t think we’re over protected.”
Insurance rates for those who are outside of an eight kilometre (five mile) radius is more expensive, he said.
If there are too many fire stations, he questions which one is shut down.
“That’s a decision council will have to determine,” Chief Heubner said. “It is all councils responsibility for fire protection and a fire department. The level of service is determined by council.”
If council were to ask him to reduce the fire halls down to four or even three, he would sit down with senior fire department management and do an assessment report for council. Management would include himself, Deputy-Chief Moore, and acting deputy-chiefs Terry Moore, who is in charge of fire prevention/public education and Roy Church, who is in charge of extrication.
Chief Heubner said it seems when there’s a call for cut backs, it’s the fire department that comes up on the chopping block first.
Firefighters in Whitewater “train hard. We have a good group of dedicated people who are all volunteers,” he said.
“Let’s put it in perspective,” he said. “Do we need three arenas? Pembroke has two arenas and most other places have just one.
“Do we need seven council members?
“Whenever cut backs are mentioned, it’s always fire, fire, fire. Amalgamation was supposed to save money. We have more people on staff than before. Maybe we need them.
“The provincial government is downloading everything onto the municipalities.”
Chief Heubner said take a look at this year’s municipal election. Why are there so many people running for council?
“Everyone is upset,” he said. “The Liberals have been in government for 12 years. They have screwed things up so badly. There is no money coming from Toronto and they are downloading everything to us.”
NOTE: We are having trouble uploading the photo. It will be added when possible.
