Fire Master Plan

To develop the plan, POMAX Consulting completed a detailed analysis that included:

• Reviewing several years of fire service data and response records.
• Comparing this information with community trends such as population growth, new development, land-use changes, demographics, and economic activity.
• Identifying patterns in incident types, response times, and outcomes.
• Establishing a risk profile based on these findings.

Master plans are built on data, analysis, quantified risk, available options, and associated costs. Using this information—along with population and demographic forecasts from Statistics Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the Municipality—the plan identifies the staffing, equipment, and facilities needed to meet community needs over the next decade.

The development of Central Elgin’s Fire Master Plan also included a Community Risk Assessment, as required under Ontario Regulation 378/18 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act. This assessment, along with Integrated Risk Management Planning techniques, informed the final recommendations.

Central Elgin updates its Fire Master Plan approximately every 10 years, which is considered best practice in Ontario. The current plan was formally commissioned by Council and provides a set of recommendations to guide decision-making for the next decade.

• In June 2024, the Municipality issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure consultant services for a new Community Risk Assessment and 10-year Fire Master Plan.

• After evaluating submissions, Pomax Consulting Inc. was awarded the contract.

The following recommendations are offered for Central Elgin’s consideration:

1. The fire and rescue service should devise mission and vision statements that reflect the organizations objectives or adopt the statements suggested in Section 1.2, Mission, Vision and Strategy.
2. The fire service should work with its record management system vendor and seek information technology assistance to develop a tabular database outcome utility that is relational to data recorded in steps 1, 2, and 4 (Exhibit 26).
3. Amalgamate the Union fire station with Port Stanley, redistribute or sell Union station assets, redistribute rolling stock if there is a strong business case based on incident analysis for retaining some apparatus.
4. If Union fire station is amalgamated, reduce the number of volunteers at the Port Stanley and Union stations by half through attrition.
5. Hire or contract a 24-hour a week part time training position.
6. Hire a full-time prevention and public education position which is expected to contribute to reducing structure and other fires in the municipality. The township will still require the efforts of volunteer firefighters to assist the prevention officer and achieve the objective of reducing fire incidents.
7. Reassess under what circumstances the fire department should be dispatched to medical and other non-fire incidents which make up more than 80% of the call volume.
8. Work with the Tillsonburg fire dispatch to take more time to extract information from callers which will reduce the number of people and trucks sent to incidents. Fewer than 15% of incidents, considered by the public and emergency workers to be emergencies, are time sensitive, and fewer than 5% are life threatening and require rapid response.
9. Work with the Tillsonburg fire dispatch and emergency partners such as police and paramedic services to ask key questions of callers before determining whether the fire service should be deployed.
10. Work with emergency partners such as police and paramedic services to define which non-fire events should be attended and understand the history of why fire departments attend a high proportion of non-fire events.
11. Implement a data gathering and data mining strategy that can examine the services provided relative to assets and resources expended.
12. Implement an Integrated Risk Management Planning program to objectively assess risk and, subsequently, refine call out practices to match resources to need.
13. Examine, on a call-by-call basis, resources deployed to determine whether patterns exist by call type which would allow assets and resources committed to be adjusted.
14. Use technology to reduce the number of firefighters responding to medical and other calls by using selective paging rather than general callouts. Medical incidents make up more than 60% of call volume. There are two paramedics in an ambulance and one in a paramedic response vehicle but four, six, or eight firefighters respond to medical incidents because all calls are dispatched through a general callout. Medical incidents need no more than one or two firefighters to attend. Onpage Incident Alert Management is one company that can offer selective paging rather than general callouts; there may be others.
15. If Council decides to stay with the status quo with respect to call type response we recommend a Deputy Chief’s complement starting in the 2028 budget year. 

What data gaps did the Fire Master Plan identify, and how is Central Elgin addressing them?

The report identified a gap in how the fire service collects and manages operational data. Accurate, accessible data is essential for assessing service value, planning resources, and managing risks effectively.

One of the recommendations from the Fire Master Plan is that Central Elgin Fire Rescue work with record management system vendor to develop a relational database that links key operational data. This database will help the municipality improve safety, reduce fire incidents, and optimize response requirements over the next 5–7 years.

Progress to date:

• Starting in January 2025, the fire department has updated its data recording methods, making future information more accurate and easier to work with.
• The municipality is hiring a Fire Service Records Management / Compliance System Specialist, who will design and implement efficient systems for managing fire service and compliance records.

While creating and maintaining this database requires resources, the investment is expected to pay off within 2–3 years through improved efficiency and more effective fire service planning.

What does the data show about fire department activities in Central Elgin?

The data tells us that most fire department activities are not related to building fires. Eighty percent of Central Elgin Fire and Rescue activity is concentrated in the following incident types (in order):

1. Open air burning/unauthorized controlled burning (no uncontrolled fire)
2. Alcohol or drug related
3. Alarm System Equipment - Malfunction
4. Seizure
5. Vital signs absent, DOA
6. CO false alarm - equipment malfunction (no CO present)
7. Vehicle Collision
8. Chest pains or suspected heart attack
9. Asphyxia, Respiratory Condition
10. Accident or illness related - cuts, fractures, person fainted, etc.
11. Other Medical/Resuscitator Call

Of those 11, two were fire related call types (Open air burning, Alarm System Equipment – Malfunction), and one was CO false alarm - equipment malfunction (no CO present).

Seven of the remaining eight incident types were medical events, and the one remaining type, vehicle collision, is a ‘gray’ category since those are mostly medical due to injury, although fire often responds. The vehicle collisions were not entrapments as those are classified separately. Entrapments requiring extrication was the 16th most frequent incident type attended occurring an average of just over 7 times a year.

The list above describes events as they were dispatched, not as they were found.

Fire incidents by area:

• Belmont: Three structure fires in six years (2019, 2022, 2024).
• Port Stanley: One structure fire in each of 2019–2021, and two in each of 2022–2024.
• Union and Yarmouth areas: More frequent fires—five structure fires in 2020 (Union) and five in 2023 (Yarmouth). Even in these years, the average was less than one structure fire every two months. Increased prevention and public education can reduce fires further.

When do incidents occur?

• Fire and rescue activity peaks in June, July, and August, coinciding with recreational activity and higher traffic volumes.
• The majority of summer incidents are medical calls and vehicle collisions rather than fires.

Why does the Fire Master Plan recommend amalgamation of the Union Fire Station with Port Stanley?

What could consolidation look like?

The recommendation is to combine operations at the Port Stanley station and either redistribute, sell, or repurpose Union station assets, including:

• Non-rolling stock assets worth $567,000 (in 2022 dollars) that are scheduled for replacement by 2042 could be avoided or redistributed.
• Fire apparatus could be reassigned to other stations or retained as backup at Port Stanley, which has sufficient space.
• Volunteer staffing could be adjusted through attrition. Currently, there are about 50 volunteers between both stations; consolidation could reduce personnel without affecting service levels.
• Turnout gear and equipment costs could be reduced by up to 25%, potentially saving $87,500–$100,000 over a 10-year cycle.
• Future building costs would be avoided, as Union station and possibly Yarmouth station may need replacement in the next 15 years at an estimated $3–6 million.
• The Union station site could generate revenue if sold, or be repurposed for another municipal use.
• Future maintenance costs could be avoided. The 2024 maintenance budget for the Union Fire Station was $22,600 although actual costs may be less.

Would service be affected if one station is closed?

No. Even with the Union station closed, response times from Port Stanley would remain well within national standards. Redistribution of apparatus and careful management of volunteer resources would ensure the community continues to receive timely fire protection services.

No. The Fire Master Plan does not require immediate decisions about station amalgamation. Instead, Council is being asked to:

1. Receive the 2025 Fire Master Plan for information and adopt it as a non-binding strategic direction document to guide future decision-making.
2. Approve the 2025 Community Risk Assessment (CRA), as required under Ontario Regulation 378/18 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, and adopt it as the Municipality’s official CRA of record.
3. Direct staff to use the CRA and strategic insights from the Fire Master Plan to inform future budgets, operational planning, fire prevention programs, and long-term capital strategies.

This approach ensures that any decisions about station consolidation or other major changes will be guided by data, risk assessments, and strategic planning rather than made immediately.

What does the Fire Master Plan say about fire prevention and public education in Central Elgin?

In Central Elgin, data shows that structure fires occur most frequently in the Yarmouth and Union areas rather than in the more populated areas, indicating the need for data-driven, targeted prevention efforts.

The Fire Master Plan recommends hiring a full-time fire prevention and public education officer, supported by volunteer firefighters, to lead these programs, educate the public, and help reduce the frequency and severity of fires throughout the municipality.

How can Central Elgin reduce emergency response costs while maintaining public safety?

The Fire Master Plan identifies opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs without reducing service quality. Key findings include:

• Medical incidents and traffic collisions account for 69% of fire department activity and 64% of turnout costs.
• Firefighters are often dispatched through general callouts, sending 4–8 firefighters to incidents that may only require 1–2.
• Fewer than 15% of incidents are truly time-sensitive emergencies, and less than 5% are life-threatening.

To address this, the report recommends:

1. Working with Tillsonburg Fire Dispatch to gather more information from callers before dispatching resources.
2. Collaborating with emergency partners (police, paramedics) to clarify which non-fire events should be attended.
3. Implementing data collection and analytics to evaluate services relative to resources.
4. Using Integrated Risk Management Planning to match resources to actual risk.
5. Reviewing each incident to identify patterns that could optimize resource deployment.
6. Adopting selective paging technology so only the necessary firefighters respond to medical and other non-fire calls.

These measures would allow Central Elgin Fire and Rescue to reduce costs, optimize staffing, and maintain safe, timely emergency response for the community.