COBDEN — The Whitewater Region Fire Department has renewed two fire agreements with Admaston/Bromley Township.
It has an automatic aid agreement and an extrication agreement, noted Fire Chief Wayne Heubner at last week’s fire services meeting.
The automatic aid means the township fire department responds first in a certain area of the former Bromley Township, he said. The fee is $6,500 a year.
The extrication agreement is $1,000 a year and if the firefighters “are there for any length of time,” there is an additional cost of $500 per hour, Chief Heubner stated.
The township fire department is also a participant in the county-wide mutual aid agreement, he said. This means any township that needs Whitewater’s firefighters and are part of the mutual aid agreement, they must respond, he explained.
The extrication agreement covers more of Admaston-Bromley Township, sharing the coverage with the Renfrew fire department, Chief Heubner said. That agreement came into affect in January, 2014.
“Admaston/Bromley pays Whitewater a fee for service to look after extrication,” he said.
As an example, if there was a farm accident and air bags were required, Whitewater firefighters from Cobden and/or Haley’s fire stations would respond, he said.
“If we stay on scene, Admaston/Bromley pays us $500 for every hour on scene,” Chief Heubner said.
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin had concerns with the $6,500 fee for the automatic response.
“I don’t understand, but that’s probably the same (amount) over the last eight years,” he said. “I would like clarification on that, but I assume we can’t do much about it.”
He added, “There’s not much use debating something that’s already been signed.”
Chief Heubner noted there are some years the fire department will respond to four or five fires a year, but will spend less than two hours each time.
“Our particular costs were much less, I do believe,” he said. “If we were to revisit and they were to pay us per hour it would be considerably less.”
The agreement with the MNR has to be renewed this year, Chief Heubner said.
The area covered is the provincial park near Westmeath, which isn’t easily accessible, he said.
“I’m not sure of the actual hectares, but they pay us to look after any fires there,” he said. “In 2015 and 2016, it’s about a $1.10 to $1.20 per hectare.”
The fire department will make a decision if MNR firefighters need to respond, he said.
