Fire stations tight squeeze for trucks
St. Catharines fire trucks must be customized to fit into older stations, leading council to wonder if station bays should be increased in size.
City council heard the city has to pay a little more for special trucks because the heights or widths at headquarters on Geneva Street, Station 2 on Linwell Road and Station 3 on Pelham Road aren’t big enough.
Acting fire Chief Jeff McCormick said firefighters can’t use standard doors on the top of trucks to put hoses inside because ceiling heights don’t permit them to stand up and open the doors.
“You’re talking stations that were designed 40, 50 years ago to accommodate trucks that were nowhere near the size of the modern fire truck,” McCormick said.
The discussion came up while council was approving the cost of a new 2018 pumper and rescue fire truck from Safeteck Emergency Vehicles for $752,215 plus HST.
The truck will replace a front-line 2005 pumper that will be used as a spare in the fleet. The truck currently acting as a spare is from 2001 and will be decommissioned.
A customized truck costs more than a standard truck, though how much more wasn’t provided Monday.
St. Andrew’s Coun. Matt Harris wondered if the city could save money in the long run by increasing the size of the station bays so it can purchase standard trucks.
He asked staff for a cost benefit analysis on restructuring fire department bays to avoid the customized truck orders.
“If we’ve been doing this for years and years, I think there probably comes a time where we as a council or senior staff should put together a plan where perhaps we should change our bays,” he said. “And out of the savings over 20 years, perhaps could pay for it instead of buying trucks that are customized due to the ceiling height.”
Grantham Coun. Bill Phillips said the real problem is headquarters, which has firefighter bunks on top of the bays so the door openings can’t be raised without changing the whole building.
“To allow the new modern firetrucks, you’re going to have to demolish that station and build a new Station 1,” Phillips said, adding that’s something the standing budget committee can consider.
“It’s going to be a long expensive sojourn to get to that point.”
Council also directed the budget standing committee to consider allocating an annual increase of $50,000 to the reserve for firefighting equipment for years 2018 to 2027 based on current forecasted equipment needs.
Phillips noted fire trucks have nearly doubled in price since 2008, when a pumper then cost an estimated $440,000. kwalter@postmedia.ca