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Timmins decides against amalgamating east end fire stations

A plan to build a new fire station in the east end is going up in smoke. This comes after Fire Chief Mike Pintar looked into the cost of amalgamating the Whitney and South Porcupine brigades into one big station. It was originally estimated to cost $4 million total, $1 million of which would come from the city. But, Pintar says new estimates more than tripled that number. He says as he started looking at what was required the number went to $14 million. That would include certain upgrades like extra EMS bays.

Pintar says the feasibility just isn’t there. On top of that, he says a number of volunteer fire fighters weren’t on board with the plan to amalgamate, and wouldn’t have joined the new station.  He says you can have a nice new building, but with no fire fighters to put into it, it doesn’t work. Pintar also points out they rely on their volunteer base. He says it can be tough at times during the day when people are working, and having two stations allows them to back each other up when there is a shortage.

This decision comes on the heels of the city deciding to keep the Connaught Fire Station open, after KPMG recommended they close it to save money. Read about that decision below.

Closing the Connaught Fire Hall would risk a lot to save a little, says Fire Chief

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