The Mayor of East Hawkesbury has concerns about the township’s fire department assisting with fire protection needs in Québec.

During a fire which destroyed the former Depanneur Jo’s building on Main Street East in Hawkesbury on February 14, fire departments from Grenville village, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and Brownsburg-Chatham assisted Hawkesbury firefighters at the scene. Following the fire, the Hawkesbury Fire Department informed The Review that the East Hawkesbury Fire Department covered the Town of Hawkesbury, Grenville village, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and Brownsburg-Chatham, while the other four departments were occupied with the Main Street fire. If there had been a fire call in any of those municipalities while their fire departments were occupied with the fire in Hawkesbury, East Hawkesbury would have had to respond.

East Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Kirby does not want the township to be taken advantage of in those situations.

“If they want our services, we’re not going to be bossed by them,” he said.

The Town of Hawkesbury has mutual-aid fire agreements with the village of Grenville, municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and city of Lachute. Hawkesbury and East Hawkesbury established a new mutual-aid fire agreement in September of 2022. However, East Hawkesbury does not have mutual-aid agreements with the Québec municipalities.

Kirby said he is not sure if the township’s insurance covers its firefighters if they are working outside Ontario.

“It’s become a little issue,” he remarked.

Kirby emphasized the priority of the East Hawkesbury Fire Department is serving the municipality where it is headquartered.

“The taxpayers of East Hawkesbury paid for those fire trucks,” he said.

“There was no truck at the St-Eugène station,” added Kirby.

He emphasized East Hawkesbury went to assist Hawkesbury as requested, but not to answer fire calls in municipalities across the Ottawa River.

New station needed

Assisting fire departments outside Ontario is not the only challenge currently facing East Hawkesbury’s fire department. A new fire station is needed in St-Eugène because the existing building is small, old, and does not meet contemporary needs.

Kirby said the biggest obstacle to a new station being built in the village is the lack of funds.

“We’d like to build one, but it’s over a million dollars, and we can’t finance that,” Kirby said.