It costs far more than the city average to operate a fire station on the Toronto Islands — a situation that Coun. John Burnside called "overkill.”
Burnside isn’t arguing for the Toronto Islands fire station to close just yet, but he’s called into question the staggering cost to answer an emergency call.
The concerns around cost were brought to city council on Tuesday after a public inquiry by Burnside.
A total of 16 firefighters are assigned to the station on Cibola Avenue on Ward's Island, called Station 335. The station and its firefighters are scheduled to provide 24/7 service. Four firefighters are on duty at any given time, according to a letter written by city manager Paul Johnson on Dec. 11.
During the off-peak period, it costs more than ten times the city average for the Island-based firefighters to respond to a call in the area: $25,925, as opposed to $2,926 for elsewhere in the city.
From September through April, Station 335 handled 72 calls, equal to about three calls a week. That means more often than not, a firefighter working a standard 24-hour shift at the station in the off-season won't be called out at all.
In the peak season, Station 335 is a little busier. From May through September of 2023, the station answered 197 calls for an average of about two every 24 hours. Responding to a peak season call costs $6,768 each.
The station has a full-size fire truck, as well as a mini-pumper and a van that was bought with the Islands' narrow laneways and bridges in mind. Fire crews can also be supported, if needed, by fireboats from the city side.
Despite the numbers, Burnside said he isn't calling for Station 335 to be closed permanently or even during the slow season.
"We're also looking at a bridge, a permanent link to the islands, for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles,” he told TorontoToday in an interview.
"The city is redeveloping the whole Port Lands, so to have 16 firefighters stationed there out of that station — four at any one time — is overkill, especially in the off season,” Burnside said.
Burnside said with a bridge in place, firefighters could be stationed in a soon-to-be Port Lands firehall and could instead travel to the Islands as necessary, rather than being stationed there full time.
The annual cost to maintain and staff the station is about $3.2 million.
"I'm looking long term," Burnside said."I'm not here to deprive anyone of the service. The city takes so long to do everything anyway that we need to lay the groundwork for thinking about the future."
