It’s a big week for the Barrie Fire Department.
Not only is it officially opening a brand-new fire hall in the south end, but it’s also welcoming 22 new firefighters to the team.
Some of the new recruits will be stationed at the new fire hall. Barrie firefighter Alexander Stirling, one of the 22 new hires, expresses, “I am most looking forward to building camaraderie with my team, like becoming that big family that everyone talks about in the fire service.”
Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) Station 6 in southeast Barrie is now up and running; equipped with the latest in technology and gear, this new fire hall will give the city better coverage.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall says the project is long overdue. Nuttall told CTV News that he’s been talking about this fire hall for the last 15 years. Ever since it was clean, the south end of the city was going to boom in growth.
“Certainly as the city is growing, we need to ensure that we have ah the ability to respond to fires. Certainly we’re at a stage where we are large enough that there could be multiple events happening at once,” said Nuttall in a Monday interview.
Barrie’s fire chief says the addition of the new fire hall clears the way for the fire department to be able to meet a standard where crews will be able to respond to fires within six minutes 90 per cent of the time.
“This area lagged behind a little bit, but now with the opening of this station today, we have satisfied that threshold. Six minutes is from when we receive the call to when we are at your house, and that’s really important to make sure that we are there in time to be able to help you and your family in a time of need,” said Barrie Fire Chief Kevin White.
The new fire hall is the sixth fire station to service the City of Barrie. The price tag is $11.9 million, and there will be 20 full-time firefighters based out of it.