Hamilton Fire Department has released a 10 year plan for how their service will evolve. I’ve highlighted some notable changes, many of which are related to development across the city. Here is a link to the plan for anyone interested:
https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=192853
Key Points:
Occurring This Year
- The 3 Heavy Rescue Units at Stations 1 (Downtown), 4 (Upper Sherman) and 12 (Stoney Creek), will be replaced with an Urban Pumper (1), Engine (4) and Ladder (12), respectively. This allows for more flexibility in how units are used/deployed. The Rescues will be sent to Volunteer Stations.
- Since Station 12 will have a Ladder, Volunteer Station 15 (Fruitland), has had it’s ladder replaced with a newly designed rural Pumper. Stations 18 (Binbrook), 19 (Mt Hope) and 26 (Lynden) have already received their pumpers and the remaining rural stations will receive them in the next two years.
- Engine 5 (Stone Church East) will be replaced with a Ladder to better cover that area.
- Pump 6 (Barton/Wentworth) has received the first of 3 Urban Pumpers, which are smaller than other units and are designed to operate in tight areas, particularly around the LRT. Station 1 and 11 (Strathcona) are set to receive similar units this year.
Near Future:
- In 2020, additional day crews will be put in place in Waterdown (to staff Ladder 24) and Upper Stoney Creek (Station 17, unknown unit).
- The construction of Station 31 in East Waterdown will begin, once it is opened Engine and Ladder 24 will be moved there and staffed 24/7, making Station 24 fully volunteer.
- In 2021, similar Daytime staffing will begin in Binbrook (Pump 18) and Winona (Pump 16), with 24/7 staffing projected in the next decade.
- In 2023, construction will begin on a station at Upper Centennial and Rymal, with the day crew from Station 17 moving there and operating 24/7.
- In 2027, an extra Urban Pumper will be staffed 24/7 at either Station 10 (MAC U Area) or 23 (Dundas).
- The department is also looking to purchase a foam Unit for hazmat incidents, an ATV for trail incidents and a drone in the next two years.
All of these additions or changes address existing or potential growth and in my opinion are necessary. Council voted in favour of this as well.
In my opinion, there is presently a need for a 2nd Unit (Ladder) at Station 6 as Pump 6 is the busiest in the city by far. There may also be a need for a Station in the North End with the developments around that area, as Stations 1 and 11 are very busy. They may also have difficulty reaching these areas in a timely manner in the future.
EDIT
I figured I should give a rundown of the current stations and units.
Full-Time Stations - all units listed are staffed 24/7 by a crew of 4 unless otherwise noted
Station 1 (Downtown): 1 Engine, 1 Ladder, 1 Rescue, Platoon Chief
Station 2 (Upper Wellington): Engine 2, District Chief 3, Safety Officer
Station 3 (Garth): Engine 3
Station 4 (Upper Sherman): Ladder 4, Rescue 4, Hazmat 2, Hazmat Support 4 (Both Haz units are unstaffed, the Ladder and Rescue Crews drive them as needed)
Station 5 (Stone Church): Engine 5
Station 6 (Wentworth): Pump 6
Station 7 (Quigley): Engine 7
Station 8 (Melvin): Engine 8, District Chief 2
Station 9 (Kenilworth): Engine 9, Ladder 9
Station 10 (McMaster): Ladder 10
Station 11 (Strathcona): Engine 11
Station 12 (Stoney Creek): Engine 12, Rescue 12
Station 20 (Ancaster): Ladder 20
Station 23 (Dundas): Engine 23
Composite Stations - These stations have an Engine with a full-time crew, the rest of the units (Pumpers, Tankers, Rescues, Ladders, Squads, Support Units) are staffed by volunteers
Station 17 (Upper Stoney Creek): Engine 17
Station 21 (Ancaster): Engine 21
Station 24 (Waterdown): Engine 24
Volunteer Stations - These stations have no full-time firefighters as of now and rely strictly on volunteers.
Station 14 (Chapel Hill)
Station 15 (Fruitland)
Station 16 (Winona)
Station 18 (Binbrook)
Station 19 (Mt Hope)
Station 25 (Greensville)
Station 26 (Lynden)
Station 27 (Rockton)
Station 28 (Freelton)
With the proposed changes, the department will gain 5 units staffed 24/7, resulting in approximately 100 new firefighters being hired.
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