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Town plans › Master Fire Plan (fire department) · Fire department

Master Fire Plan (fire department)

Full title: Strathroy-Caradoc Fire Department Master Fire Plan, May 2021

StatusReceived and actioned
Council decisionNovember 15, 2021 [S2]
Years it covers2021-2031
Written byEmergency Management & Training Inc. (EM&T), for the Strathroy-Caradoc Fire Department
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A 10-year plan (2021-2031) for the town's fire department: staff, training, firefighter health, fire stations and trucks.

  • Consultants Emergency Management & Training Inc. reviewed the fire department in 2021 and made 19 recommendations for 2021 to 2031. It updates the department's 2010 plan.
  • Its top priorities are two full-time jobs: a Fire Prevention Officer to do inspections and fire-safety education, and a full-time Deputy Chief in charge of training.
  • For buildings and trucks, it says to start budgeting to replace Fire Station 1 in Strathroy ($6 to 8 million, depending on a separate station location study), to add washrooms, showers, lockers and a vented bunker-gear room to Station 2, and to replace Rescue 16 and Tanker 14.
  • For firefighters' health, it calls for a fuller PTSD prevention plan, a more complete cancer prevention program, and clearer fitness standards for recruits.
  • It also suggests growing the Station 1 volunteer roster from 24 to 36 firefighters, a phone app to track who can respond to calls, home sprinklers in new housing, and a review of how often buildings are inspected.
  • Almost every recommendation is labelled short-term (1 to 3 years, so roughly 2021 to 2024). The plan says it should be updated every year and fully reviewed after five years (2026).
  • A separate Fire Station Location Study (July 2021, by EM&T working for WSP) went to Council with this plan. It is posted only as a meeting attachment. In June 2025 Council chose not to follow its idea of merging the Mount Brydges and Melbourne stations into one new station, and kept both.

Why it matters to you

Fire protection is one of the largest parts of the town budget, and the new Station 1 is one of the biggest building projects of the last term. This plan is the yardstick: it shows what the town's own consultants said was needed, so residents can see what was done, what changed and what is still waiting.

Council resolved: 'Council receive and action the Master Fire Plan and Fire Hall Location Study as suggested in the recommendations and timelines.' (moved by Councillor Frank Kennes, seconded by Councillor Sandi Hipple; Carried; no recorded vote). This was a resolution to receive the plan and act on its recommendations, not a by-law. No staff report number was given.

Promises about this plan

What the plan says to do (19)

Progress only changes when a public record shows something was done. Page numbers point to the plan itself.

How to tell if it is being followed

What has happened since

Words used in this plan

Establishing and Regulating By-law
The by-law that creates the fire department and sets out what services it provides and at what level.
SOG (standard operating guideline)
A written procedure that tells firefighters how to handle a type of call or task.
NFPA
The National Fire Protection Association, a U.S. group that publishes the standards most fire departments in North America follow.
Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS)
A national organization that grades fire protection for insurance purposes and suggests how often buildings should be inspected.
Community Risk Assessment
A study, required in Ontario, of the fire risks in a community, used to decide what fire services are needed.
FSAC (Fire Service Advisory Committee)
A committee of residents and councillors that Council set up in November 2023 to advise on the fire department. It met from September 2024 to early 2025.

Sources

What we could not find