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Escarpment Magazine Spring 2014
TheMeafordFireDepartment isavolunteerdepartmentwith3 full timestaffmembers
and24volunteer firefighters. In thepastgettingproper training for the firefighterswas
a challenge because the nearest training center was theOntario Fire College in
Gravenhurst.With over 16,000 volunteer firefighters inOntario vying for training
timeat thecollege, spacewas limited. Learning thebasic firefightingskills takesabout
fourweeks,and tosendavolunteer to thecollegemeant thatpersonhad to take time
off their regular job.Most volunteersareonlyable togiveoneweekof theirvacation
time to fire trainingper year. At that rate, itwould take four years just toachieve the
basic “FiregroundOperations” certification.With over 40 FireDepartments in the
surroundingarea,and27FireHalls inGreyandBrucecountiesalone,MeafordFire
ChiefMikeMolloy recognized theneed fora training facilitycloser tohome.
ChiefMolloyput togetherabusinessplanoutlininghow the facilitywillbeable to re-
cover thebuildingcostswithin5yearsby rentingout the facility for trainingpurposes.
Theplanwaspresented to theMeafordCounsel,which subsequentlyapproved it in
Mayof2012.
In the springof 2013 theconcrete foundationwaspoured. Borrowingan idea from
other trainingcenters,metal shippingcontainerswereused tocreate thebuilding.By
stackingsix40-foot containers togetherandcuttingout some interiorwalls, theywere
able tocreateanenvironment that could simulate realworld scenarios.Unlikeother
training facilities however, this onewas designed so that the interior of thebuilding
couldbe switchedaround togeneratea totallydifferent appearance. “We looked
at other trainingcenters”explainsChiefMolloy, “we tookan ideaandbuilt on it, to
make itmorechallengingandversatile”.
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