A new coordination protocol is being implemented for fire department response in Brownsburg-Chatham, Lachute, and Saint-André-d’Argenteuil.
The new protocol means that fire departments from one municipality will respond to calls in a neighbouring municipality wherever it is closer and faster for it to respond.
On September 17, the three municipalities announced that new agreements have been signed that are designed to optimize firefighter response times and allow cost-sharing related to firefighter salaries and minimum costs incurred when one the fire department in one municipality responds to a call in another municipality.
The new protocols result from objectives set in a revised coverage scheme resulting from a study into local fire services that has taken place during the past year.
Under the new agreements, residents of Saint-André-d’Argenteuil in the area north of Coteau-des-Hêtres, and Brownsburg-Chatham residents in Saint-Philippe East, the Route du Nord sector (Highway 327), including chemin Sinclair and Lac Carillon, will now be served by the fire station that can respond most quickly.
The new protocols will be used for all calls in the areas affected. Residents must still dial 911 when needing fire department assistance and nothing has changed at that level. The call centre will transfer calls to the fire department concerned under the protocol.
“The implementation of these protocols is the result of constant efforts between Brownsburg-Chatham, Lachute and Saint-André-d’Argenteuil to improve the security of our citizens,” said Lachute Mayor Carl Péloquin.
“We face different challenges and I am confident that this collaboration will enable us to maintain an optimal coverage level,” said Saint-André-d’Argenteuil Marc-Olivier Labelle.
