The United Townships of Head, Clara, and Maria (HCM) requested that the Mattawa Fire Department assist with auto extrication services for the townships’ section of Highway 17 between Deux Rivières and Mackey.
HCM requested that Mattawa discuss the possibility with township officials, which Mattawa has agreed to. However, council is concerned about spreading the town’s fire department too thin, and Mayor Raymond Bélanger emphasized, “I don’t like the idea of exposing our community.”
“I support having a conversation,” the mayor continued, “but I will not support our fire department going out.” He added, if the fire department did cover that section of highway and if a fire occurred in Mattawa, “We’re leaving ourselves open to risk.”
Deux Rivières is about a 20-minute drive east of Mattawa along Highway 17. Mackey is about 47 minutes away by vehicle. The United Townships do not have their own fire department. In a letter to council from the townships' Mayor Debbi Grills explained, “There are currently no agreements in place with neighbouring municipalities for fire protection services.”
She continued, “Given the volume of traffic along this section of Highway 17, including heavy transport vehicles, it is important that proper emergency response capability be available in the event of a serious motor vehicle collision.”
“I think this one is a little bit beyond our capability,” said councillor Mathew Gardiner. “That’s a long time for our fire department to be away from our community.”
Laurentian Hills used to cover that area, explained councillor Fern Levesque. “I think we should send them a letter back asking them to write their MPP, asking the Ontario Fire Marshall to set up something in that area to work something out.”
“Because I don’t think we should leave our municipality at risk for an accident,” Levesque continued.
However, councillor Garry Thibert wanted to ensure the town engaged with the townships about the issue. “If we sit down with them and find out what their needs are, and see if its feasible, and if it’s not we can walk away. There’s nothing wrong with sitting down and discussing it.”