Dartmouth developer frustrated with proposed fire changes
Posted Jan 12, 2016 07:01:10 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DARTMOUTH – The developer of King’s Wharf in downtown Dartmouth is upset with proposed changes to the King Street fire station, which he says are unacceptable.
On Tuesday, Regional Council will debate proposed changes to three fire stations in the area, including King Street, that would see them staffed with e-platoons, or with volunteers on evenings, weekends and statutory holidays.
Francis Fares has written Mayor Mike Savage and the rest of council because he tells Global News he has concerns about cutting back services as the downtown core continues to grow.
“This is a vital, essential, safety need for the residents in the downtown core,” Fares said.”You cannot encourage development and encourage people to live in the downtown core and cut essential services.”
Fare’s main concern is response time by volunteers, who he said he has full respect for, as they may not live close to the station to respond quickly to a major fire.
Fares would like to see the station remain staffed with career firefighters on a 24/7 basis, but tells Metro Halifax, he doesn’t want to pay more taxes for it, because he feels we pay enough to the Municipality to support this service.
Former Halifax Fire Chief Mike Eddy tells News 95.7 he understands both sides.
“I’m not really surprised at the emotional response, and I’m not surprised that the current Chief is probably under the gun to meet some sort of reduction number,” Eddy said.
“Been there, done that and it’s a major challenge.”
