New West End Fire Hall

Consultation has concluded


A decorative image showing a cartoon fire truck about to emerge from a fire hall.

City Council approved the Operational Planning Model for Response Time Improvements on Dec. 20, 2022.


As part of a plan to improve response times for Kingston Fire and Rescue, the City is planning to construct a new fire hall in the west end. The need for a new fire hall follows a recent Community Risk Assessment that highlighted the growing need for it as the population grows in Kingston’s west end.

Funding for this new fire hall will be brought to Council for consideration as part of the 2023 capital budget process.

In a 2021 Community Risk Assessment, completed as part of Kingston Fire and Rescue’s standard operating requirements, improvements to response times were identified as a priority. One of the areas of improvement identified was the city’s west end.

Later in June of 2022 a report to the Arts Recreation and Community Policies Committee Meeting, based on the data from the Community Risk Assessment, specific recommendations were made about how to improve actual response times to meet the service benchmarks established in the Fire Services Bylaw. The Committee formally recommended to Council that the improvement plan should be included as part of the upcoming operating and capital budget discussions.

As this process moves forward we are seeking to inform community members about the programs and services that will be provided by the proposed fire hall. Questions may be asked of the project team through our questions tool below and will help inform the development of this project.

Background

  • Kingston Fire and Rescue’s coverage area include 450 square kilometres, which are divided into four geographic areas.
  • Response times – the time from when a call is received to when a firefighter arrives on the scene – vary. The 90th percentile baseline total response time within urban Kingston are between seven minutes 53 seconds and 12 minutes 27 seconds. In rural areas, the majority of response times are 13 minutes and 11 seconds.
  • Ideally, every fire hall in Kingston is equipped to provide an initial response to an emergency and a secondary response. This means they need to properly position themselves around the city and be stocked with the appropriate equipment and personnel.
  • Kingston Fire and Rescue provides a range of programs and services in accordance with the Fire Services Bylaw.
  • The requirement to complete a Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Document is outlined in the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
  • A Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Document is the documented process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating and prioritizing risks to public safety to inform decisions about the provision of fire protection services. Including recommended response time benchmarks for the delivery of approved fire protection services from approved fire station locations.



A decorative image showing a cartoon fire truck about to emerge from a fire hall.

City Council approved the Operational Planning Model for Response Time Improvements on Dec. 20, 2022.


As part of a plan to improve response times for Kingston Fire and Rescue, the City is planning to construct a new fire hall in the west end. The need for a new fire hall follows a recent Community Risk Assessment that highlighted the growing need for it as the population grows in Kingston’s west end.

Funding for this new fire hall will be brought to Council for consideration as part of the 2023 capital budget process.

In a 2021 Community Risk Assessment, completed as part of Kingston Fire and Rescue’s standard operating requirements, improvements to response times were identified as a priority. One of the areas of improvement identified was the city’s west end.

Later in June of 2022 a report to the Arts Recreation and Community Policies Committee Meeting, based on the data from the Community Risk Assessment, specific recommendations were made about how to improve actual response times to meet the service benchmarks established in the Fire Services Bylaw. The Committee formally recommended to Council that the improvement plan should be included as part of the upcoming operating and capital budget discussions.

As this process moves forward we are seeking to inform community members about the programs and services that will be provided by the proposed fire hall. Questions may be asked of the project team through our questions tool below and will help inform the development of this project.

Background

  • Kingston Fire and Rescue’s coverage area include 450 square kilometres, which are divided into four geographic areas.
  • Response times – the time from when a call is received to when a firefighter arrives on the scene – vary. The 90th percentile baseline total response time within urban Kingston are between seven minutes 53 seconds and 12 minutes 27 seconds. In rural areas, the majority of response times are 13 minutes and 11 seconds.
  • Ideally, every fire hall in Kingston is equipped to provide an initial response to an emergency and a secondary response. This means they need to properly position themselves around the city and be stocked with the appropriate equipment and personnel.
  • Kingston Fire and Rescue provides a range of programs and services in accordance with the Fire Services Bylaw.
  • The requirement to complete a Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Document is outlined in the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
  • A Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover Document is the documented process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating and prioritizing risks to public safety to inform decisions about the provision of fire protection services. Including recommended response time benchmarks for the delivery of approved fire protection services from approved fire station locations.


Consultation has concluded

Have a question? Submit it here and a member of the project team will answer it.

This feature closed on Dec. 20 at 4 pm.

  • Where will the new building be located? What will happen to the Days Road Fire Hall?

    Jbmore11 asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station ten, (Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services. 

  • Will this be relocating a current fire station or be an entirely new one for expansion purposes?

    Danth asked almost 2 years ago

    A new additional fire station is being planned. 

  • Which locations in the west end are being considered?

    SarahK asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station ten(Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services. 

  • - Is the new station to be an addition to the already active 10 stations? - Response times vary differently in the West end possibly because secondary responses are handled by volunteers, will the new station be entirely career staffed or combination? - with the increasing number of multi-unit buildings of height in the west end will the design of a new station include the ability to acquire/store upgraded aerial apparatus in order to more efficiently conform with the current response structure for multi-apparatus incidents such as alarms?

    Dominic Christian Owens asked almost 2 years ago

    The new station being recommended will involve staffing with full time Firefighters.   The assessed risks within the area have responses that are matched to each geographic area. The opportunities to improve responses are assessed on an ongoing basis based on new risks, such as new and different occupancy types.  

  • Where is the new station going to be located as it will change my house insurance yearly price????

    SirWT asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station 10, (Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services.  The best advice is to contact your Insurance Agent for their opinion on underwriting insurance costs against changing service levels. 

  • A) Will this new fire hall be equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler and fire alarm system? B) Will there be a commitment from the city to engage with Indigenous contractors while building on Traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory? C) Will the city source this work from local contractors?

    JoeyD asked almost 2 years ago

    The building will be built to Ontario Building Code Standards (OBC) for fire station occupancies with building performance systems installed based on the above OBC standards. The City of Kingston acknowledges that we are on the traditional homeland of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat. The selection of land and contractors will be carried out in accordance with City of Kingston municipal policies and By-Laws. 

  • Do you know where the new fire station will be located and an expected completion date?

    Gail Lieberman asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station ten, (Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services. 

  • Where will this fire hall be located and will the present one remain there where it is?

    Bill Brown asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station ten, (Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services. 

  • Will the proposed west end fire hall also have ambulance service co-located at the samefacility so as to be able to share common requrements such as: - training room - washrooms - lunch room - fueling - vehicle maintenance - groundskeeping The two separate fire and ambulance facilities on Hwy 15 is a wastful example of what not to do.

    George Wright asked almost 2 years ago

    The City of Kingston does not oversee Ambulance operations. However, Kingston Fire & Rescue engaged Frontenac Paramedic Services for opportunities to co-locate and share building space in the future.  

  • Will this be an additional fire hall, or replacing an old one? How many jobs will this open, if any?

    MA asked almost 2 years ago

    Kingston Fire & Rescue intends to locate in the most optimal location on the west side to address the travel time gaps for first arriving apparatus responding from station seven and station ten, (Woodbine Rd. and Days Rd. Fire stations).  At this point a search for the best location is still underway by the City’s Real Estate Services. The additional staff required to staff a fully functioning fire station in a busy urban area is twenty full time Firefighters in total.