Waterloo Fire Master Plan update
The final Fire Master Plan will be presented to Council on Monday, November 27, 2023. You can read the entire report as part of the Council Packet (report begins on page 24 of the packet), and tune in to the Council livestream on the City of Waterloo YouTube channel.
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City of Waterloo Fire Rescue is updating the Fire Master Plan. As our city grows and develops, we need to review our Fire Services to meet the changing needs for public safety. The Fire Master Plan will guide the growth of fire protection services for the next 10 years, providing a strategic framework and recommendations to help Council meet our community’s changing needs for public education, fire prevention and fire suppression services.
The Fire Master Plan will include an assessment and analysis of current and forecasted fire protection, prevention and public education service delivery needs. As part of the review process to develop the updated Fire Master Plan, a consultant is reviewing emergency response capacity associated with changing trends such as:
- traffic calming measures throughout the city
- light rail transit (ION) infrastructure
- high density redevelopment and intensification (more high-rise buildings requiring specialized vertical response)
- our growing and aging population
The Fire Master Plan recommendations will also be supported by a 10-year implementation strategy for Council and staff.
How can I get involved?
We want to know what the community thinks, what you know about Waterloo Fire Rescue, the future of our community safety, and anything else that may influence our Fire Master Plan. You can review the background information on this project for more information, and we'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our survey. You can always share any additional thoughts through our comments section, or directly with a member of the project team.
Subscribe to follow this project page for updates and more information about the master plan as we work through this project. Thank you for your participation as we continue shaping our fire safe community!
Comments
Station on Westmount Rd should be reopened as to service one of the highest population densities within the city.
Fire apparatus should only be used for training and responding to emergencies to save fuel and wear and tear on vehicles.
Public education and Fire Prevention must be a priority with Waterloo. The first and Second lines of defense listed by the OFMEM is Education and Prevention. Municipalities need to change their mindsets away from suppression first and focus on preventing fires in the first place. New education and inspection programs need to be created, identify high risk properties and groups needs to happen and appropriate staff must be assigned/ hired to help mitigate the risk to the community. Increasing the amount of staff in Pub Ed and Prevention should be identified and put into the new budget to meet the changing needs of a growing city.
Will Bike lanes take priority over emergency services such as fire department?
I have nothing but praise for our fire service. They are brave, professionals who are willing to risk their lives when we are having our worst day. However, they are severely understaffed. There have been NO new stations built (since Station 4 at 911 University Ave E) in 15 YEARS!! The population has increased by 30,000 residents to 129,000 and that DOES NOT include the 62,000 students causing HAVOC downtown every weekend. Over the last 15 years there have also been over 2 DOZEN high rise towers constructed. And to my knowledge, we STILL only have 1 true ladder truck. I have a friend that needed to call 911 from VISTA HILLS and it took first responders over 7 minutes to respond. You can’t blame the Fire Department, there is no station to cover the far west end. Waterloo Fire Rescue is not equipt to deal with the population boom and it’s putting taxpayers and the Firefighters in danger.
Project Team
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RH
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