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Forest fire headquarters renovations complete

The Fire Management Headquarters and Provincial Logistic Centre underwent $25 million in upgrades to allow more efficient deployment of fire resources.
MNR Fire Headquarters
From left to right: MPP Michael Gravelle, MPP Bill Mauro, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Kathryn McGarry, Rick Dunning, director of aviation forest fire and emergency services, and Dave Cleaveley, response and operations manager for the fire program in the Northwest region, uncouple the hose on the new Fire Management Headquarters and Provincial Logistics Centre.

THUNDER BAY - With 149 active forest fires burning in the Northwest region, fire crews continue to work long, hard hours not only at suppressing fires in the field, but logistical services out of Thunder Bay.  

Those jobs are getting much more efficient thanks to the completion of a newly renovated Fire Management Headquarters and Provincial Logistics Centre in Thunder Bay.

Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Kathryn McGarry, was in Thunder Bay on Wednesday to announce the completion of the headquarters located on Arthur Street.

“We are able to respond much more easily and readily from this new fire centre to ensure we can employ resources across Ontario and right across North America when we are called upon to do it,” McGarry said.

The $25 million renovation began in 2014 and modernized the aging facility so it can house all local forest fire management staff in one location.

Dave Cleaveley, response and operations manager for the fire program in the Northwest region, said the facility in Thunder Bay was badly in need of upgrades.

“This was an older facility that was approximately 30 or 35 years old,” he said. “It wasn’t really built for the purpose of being a provincial centre for logistics and a fire management headquarters. We moved into it after the fact.”

The new facility, which can see anywhere from 100 to 200 employees during the fire season, is much more efficient, Cleaveley said, providing modern facilities for staff and crews, as well as equipment storage, aerial support facilities, and an added helipad.

“For this facility, we clearly see the need to ensure our fire fighters are as well-equipped and able to provide the work that they do as efficiently as possible,” said MPP Bill Mauro. “That’s what this $25 million investment was primarily about.”

This efficiency is more important now than ever, McGarry said, as climate change is leading to longer and more extreme forest fire seasons not only in Ontario, but across the country.

“Every year we monitor different fires,” she said. “We rank the fires each year to see how they compared to the 10 year average. Some seasons we have fewer fires, some more fires, but we need to respond very quickly. We need the resources and efficiency to ensure that everybody is able to deploy those resources.”

Both Mauro and McGarry commended the work of the fire crews, who not only serve the region, but have also travelled to B.C. to help fight one of the worst forest fire seasons that province has ever seen.

“We in Ontario have one of the best fire services and we are proud of the work that they do here. They are a world class firefighting services,” McGarry said. “The pumps that we use here, the training that they get, mean they are well in demand when other jurisdictions call. We are definitely well resourced.”

The province will continue to invest in upgrades to forest fire management, with the headquarters in Dryden expected to undergo renovation starting in October, 2017.  

“It is as badly needed as the one that is here,” Cleaveley said. “It is taking an existing building that was built in the 70s and to modernize it and to ensure our firefighters have the best and most modern facilities available to ensure their safety and the efficient operation.”



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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