Providing a quicker response: Bear River Fire Department opens substation in Cornwallis Park
In emergency situations, every second matters.
The Bear River Fire Department opened a substation with two trucks in Cornwallis Park at the end of September to better serve the residents in its community.
“The need that we wanted to address was a quicker response for the 500-plus residents that live in Cornwallis and Deep Brook area,” Chief David McCormick said. “We wanted to ensure that we were getting here faster for them.”
The department’s fire hall is nestled in the valley at the mouth of the Bear River in Digby County. It serves one of the largest geographical coverage areas in Nova Scotia.
Cornwallis Park is about a 12-minute drive from the Bear River hall in good weather. The next closest fire hall is in Annapolis Royal, about a 15-minute drive northeast of Cornwallis Park.
The decision to add a substation paid immediate dividends. The day the department moved one of the trucks to Cornwallis, the pagers went off.
“They didn’t make it to the substation,” McCormick said. “They made it to the corner and they had their first call with that truck.”
There was a base-operated fire department in Cornwallis Park until Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis was closed in the mid-1990s. That hall has since been converted into a home.
Discussions about a satellite station in the community have occurred a handful of times during the past decade.
McCormick said things fell into place when department officials heard Bear River resident David Wilson was looking at selling a building on Spinnaker Drive in Cornwallis Park. He had used it as part of his floating dock business, but he is now retired.
The department has a two-year lease on the 100-foot building with an option to buy it at any time. It has two trucks, a 1,000-gallon pumper and a utility vehicle with medical first responder equipment, stored on-site.
There are 10 sets of bunker gear at the substation with those members living within six minutes of the substation.
“And that was our big thing – to make sure that we had enough people to staff it,” McCormick said. “And right now, we have a waiting list of individuals that want to join.”
The department posted on Facebook on Sept. 26, that it had finished moving the gear and trucks into the substation. That day, four people said they wanted to join the department.
McCormick, who has been with the department for 26 years, said it is overwhelmed by the community’s support – something that was apparent during the two public meetings the department held before making the move.
“We’re here to make sure that we’re there for them,” he said of area residents. “That’s what we volunteer for.”
He said the department is also appreciative of the County of Annapolis standing beside the volunteers with the recent decision.
Jonathan Welch, who represents Cornwallis Park on the County of Annapolis council, called the substation a wonderful addition to the community and Annapolis County.
“We are fortunate to have such dedicated firefighters who give so much of their time to keeping our community safe,” he said.
“The Bear River Fire Department has long served residents within Annapolis County even though its main fire hall is located just across the boundary in Digby County. Having the substation here in Cornwallis Park strengthens that connection and puts these important emergency services even closer to the people they serve.”
Welch said the community has always been thankful for the firefighters’ commitment to the communities they serve.
“This new facility is a great investment in the safety and strength of Cornwallis Park and the surrounding area.”
McCormick said Cornwallis Park has grown since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are industrial businesses on the north side of Highway 1 and there are plans for new residential developments on both sides of the road.
The Cornwallis Park hall is not far from Highway 101. The utility vehicle has extrication tools, including a set of jaws of life, used in motor vehicle crashes.
The chief estimated about 70 per cent of the department’s calls are in Annapolis County. He said having some of its equipment on that side of the coverage area helps with response time.
“The quicker you can get at a structure fire, the faster you’re going to get it out,” McCormick said. “Having that truck here and having the members here, we can get at them a lot faster.”
The new substation is located across the road from Clark Rutherford Memorial School. McCormick said during school hours, trucks will leave the substation with lights on, but no sirens.
The two trucks are stored in the western end of the 100-foot building. McCormick said a decision hadn’t been made on what it will do with the space on the eastern end.
Originally reported in SaltWire Annapolis Valley.
