Rumours, oh despicable rumours. They are ever-present in small communities such as North Dundas, and they are often born innocently from some aspect of truth that is then embellished with assumptions and bad information.
One such rumour that spread on social media last week was a suggesting that the South Mountain Fire Station is “on the chopping block”. This rumour had an element of truth, in the sense that a third party report presented to Council recommended the Fire Station’s closure. However, Council went to great lengths to remind North Dundas residents in the November 7 Council meeting that recommendations in a report only sometimes result in real action.
The report received by Council, prepared by Pomax Consulting, stated the following regarding the South Mountain Fire Station:
“[T]here are records totaling seven structure fires in the South Mountain response area for the five year study period. That is an average of one structure fire every 8.6 months and, based on the number of fires and time sensitive emergencies only, wouldn’t warrant keeping the station open… Our recommendation is to consider closing the South Mountain fire hall and serving the area from the Mountain station.”
It wasn’t a far leap for social media to turn this statement into an assertion that the South Mountain Fire Station is “on the chopping block”, with many social media users expressing anger at Council. Perhaps even more shocking is the report’s recommendation of a future consideration of closing the Chesterville Fire Station due to a similarly low number of reported structure fires. Chesterville is the second largest community in North Dundas, with a population of over 1,500 people. It is understandable how the report, when read into, has the potential to strike fear into the hearts of those residing in the Township’s second and third largest communities. The community of Morewood received a similar recommendation in the report, specifically because it has only seen one structure fire in approximately five years.
“Most communities would not establish a fire station, if one was not already in place, based on one structure fire in five years,” says the report, regarding Morewood.
Council was eager to put rumours and speculation to rest on November 7. “Anyone who partook in that really embarrassed themselves,” said Councillor Matthew Uhrig, referring to the misinformed social media discussion which took place regarding the issue. Councillors John Lennox and Gary Annable expressed similar views, wanting to stress the difference between third party recommendations presented to Council, and decisions made by Council. A representative of Pomax Consulting discussed the logic behind the report, explaining that it is simply data driven and meant to provide fact-based information only. The discussion also identified the variety of call types that firefighters respond to, with structure fires only accounting for a small portion of the response from local stations. Local taxpayers undoubtedly appreciate having first responders close by for these other emergencies, and house insurance companies often consider this proximity when calculating premiums.
Mayor Tony Fraser and other Council members asked several questions of the Pomax representative, particularly regarding best data collection practices that will inform good future decision making. Council members made it clear that the closing of any North Dundas fire station is a discussion not on the table now, or in the near future.
