Victoria mayor presses for regional fire service

By Local Journalism Reporter Olivia Bradbury

Victoria council is hoping Salmon Cove, Carbonear and Harbour Grace will join it in investigating the possibility of operating a shared, regional fire department.

Victoria Mayor Sharon Penney presented the idea to the Joint Council of Conception Bay North at its meeting in Bay Roberts on October 29. She said her council had voted to engage Salmon Cove, Carbonear, and Harbour Grace in exploring the feasibility of a regional fire department.

“It passed with unanimous consent, and the argument was it has become apparent that given the limitations of our fire halls and our aging equipment, the major expenditure for fire services is upon us,” said Penney. “In an effort to maintain the quality of fire protection that our citizens have become accustomed to, we need to view other funding options beyond a single community-funded fire department. One such approach is the development of a regional fire service. This will permit the towns in our immediate vicinity to share the cost of firefighting and to access and enhance funding for fire equipment.”

Penney said that the Town of Victoria would be reaching out to Carbonear and Harbour Grace and had already discussed the idea with Salmon Cove.

“There is a proposal ready to go to whichever government department that oversees fire emergency preparedness, and we’re hoping to hear back from them in a relatively short period of time and start some sort of a formal process of a regional fire department,” said Penney.

Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour, who chairs the joint council, applauded the idea.

 “That’s the (kind of) thing that we need to start doing in CBN.”

Harbour Grace Mayor Terry Barnes suggested going even bigger with a regional fire department encompassing all 11 member communities that are part of the joint council.

Penney said Victoria’s proposal was limited to its three neighbouring communities in an effort to maintain a certain response time.

“The understanding I got with speaking with our fire chief was that they’re looking at a response time of 14 minutes,” said Penney. “So if you’re looking at a response time of 14 minutes within a community where a fireperson has to leave their house and come to the fire hall and then leave, if you’re looking at that, you have a smaller geographic area.”

Cupids Mayor Rod Delaney, who shared his support and ideas for regionalization at a previous joint council meeting, supported Penney’s idea

“I love what you’re doing,” Delaney said to Penney. “Best thing I’ve heard in a long time. Wonderful concept. We all need to embrace it. It’s all about the betterment of the area. So many different fire departments competing for a dollar. So nonsensical.”

Carbonear Deputy Mayor Fred Earle suggested the joint council contact the fire commissioner’s office and the provincial government about the idea of having a study and get recommendations.

Seymour cautioned, however, that before going further, the joint council representatives should go back to their respective towns and ask their council colleagues if they are interested in pursuing the idea.