Study supports relocation of Paris and Airport fire stations to one consolidated station on Rest Acres Road corridor

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

The County of Brant is moving forward with plans to relocate two of its fire stations following a presentation to the Administration and Operations Committee on October 21.

Consultant Tim Beckett of Behr Integrated Solutions, who has been working with Fire Chief Darren Watson and the County of Brant Fire Department over the past several months, presented the findings of a Fire Station Location Study, including a recommendation stemming from the County’s Fire Master Plan.

“This was all about looking at what is feasible,” Beckett told councillors. “We looked at five years of response data and applied some GIS process and looked at your growth projections over the coming years. We utilized industry best practices to fit the community’s needs in the future.”

Beckett explained that the Paris and Airport stations are strategically important to the County’s long-term emergency response performance. With a new fire station under construction in the north end of Paris, the study presented an opportunity to identify the most effective location for Station 1, currently at Dundas Street East and Curtis Avenue, and to assess the potential for consolidation with Station 2, located near the airport.

The study reviewed five years of call data, population growth projections and development patterns to determine where the fire service could best meet future demand over the next 50 years.

The County of Brant’s population is projected to increase from roughly 40,500 in 2021 to 59,000 by 2051, with much of that growth concentrated in the Paris settlement area along the Highway 403 corridor, a factor that heavily influenced the study’s recommendations.

The report found that total emergency response times across the Paris and Airport stations averaged about 13 minutes at the 80th percentile, with assembly times for volunteer firefighters identified as a key factor affecting overall performance. Travel times were deemed “reasonable” and comparable with other volunteer departments, but future congestion and distance to new growth areas underscored the need for a better-positioned facility.

Three potential locations were assessed:

Option A: North of Highway 403 at Rest Acres and Powerline roads. Key limitations to this location indicated it does not adequately address growth in the south.

Option B: South of Highway 403 at Rest Acres and Bethel roads. It identified as the preferred option, offering balanced coverage across both existing and developing areas.

Option C: Maintaining current station locations, which was deemed inefficient, resulting in overlapping coverage in the north and weaker response to areas south of the highway.

Beckett said relocating to the Rest Acres corridor south of Highway 403 would provide quick highway access, available municipal land, and strong coverage for the airport settlement and growing residential areas. Existing fire halls could also be repurposed or sold to help offset costs associated with construction of a new facility.

Committee members unanimously supported the study’s preferred option and directed staff to prepare a business plan to bring forward to County Council for final consideration.

If approved, the relocation would see Paris Station 1 and the Airport Station 2 consolidated south of Highway 403 near Rest Acres Road and Bethel Road, positioning the County’s fire service for long-term growth and improved emergency response.