New fire management centre open

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has a new location for its fire management centre in North Bay.

The official opening of the $9.5 million centre located near the Jack Garland Airport was held on Friday.

Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Kathryn McGarry says this project is proof that ministry fire services are an important part of North Bay and that means a lot to their staff.

She says the facility is an anchor in the community.

She says staff know their jobs are secure.

McGarry says there are 39 people working at the facility.

McGarry says many of the staff put their lives on the line and it’s important to have a facility that they feel comfortable in before and after firefighting work.

She says the facility consolidates fire crews and support from 4 locations into one building and this will bring faster deployment when forest fores occur.

The facility will cover an area west to Verner, south to Sundridge, east to Mattawa and north about halfway to Timmins.

The MNRF district office remains on Trout Lake Road.

The city is looking to take over the building and tear it down and expand a community park.