Moving forward for now, the Strathroy-Caradoc Fire Service will remain status quo with a station in Mount Brydges and also a station in Melbourne. Last week at Council, Interim Fire Chief Brad Bigrigg recommended to Council that two stations are planned for the future in both Mount Brydges and Melbourne settlement area, and it should stay that way.
The area in question for a possible amalgamated fire station would be somewhere in the Rougham Road are of Mount Brydges. The Interim Fire Chief says you must consider two very important variables when discussing this topic.
He added, there are benefits to the current status and if it’s changed it will have a ripple effect on the public.
It was briefly discussed that these stations should be placed in strategic areas that would benefit other communities and Municipalities that are in the nearby settlement areas and allow for faster response times in relation to time and distance.
In the end, Council voted unanimously that Fire Station 2 continue to be located in the Mount Brydges settlement area, and that Fire Station 3 continue to be located in the Melbourne settlement area.
He says it would be viewed by ratepayers as a service decline and an unnecessary expenditure. He added he understands why the Fire Station Location Study from 2021 was done, but to him it doesn’t work.
Written by: C. Soares