A proposed new fire station in Timmins has been put on hold, with the city closing its contract with the architect. In an email, city employees learned multiple levels of government indicated they don’t want to be associated with the project. But while delayed, Timmins fire chief Scott Atkinson said the project has not been cancelled. “The project is put on hold,” Atkinson said. “We’re going to look at having independent studies done for the location for the new station. There was a lot of controversy as to the location that was chosen by the consultants.” News delivered in an email John Mavrinac, president of the Timmins Professional Firefighters Association, said they received an email June 12 that said the contract with the architect had been closed. “And should any future council wish to proceed with the new fire hall, they’ll have to start a new RFP process,” Mavrinac said. He said the association supports a new fire hall, but not the previously proposed site on Highway 655. “We knew it was going to increase response times, and that’s the reason why we went public with it,” Mavrinac said. “You can’t build a fire station in a location that’s going to make our response times even worse.” Built in 1957 Atkinson said the current building no longer meets the department’s needs. “The current main station that we’re in right now was built in 1957,” he said. “It’s just not adequate for today’s fire apparatus and the employees that work in this building. It was old, it doesn’t fit the equipment that we require. And most importantly, we don’t have a dedicated decontamination unit.” Atkinson said a new station could take three to four years to construct. In the meantime, the city will evaluate potential renovations and updates at the current Cedar Street South location.
