They have officially vacated the fire hall located in Sunset Ridge. We are at the mercy of a fire department located around five kilometres away, and a response time of around 10 minutes.
In 10 minutes there is no home to save, only containment to prevent other homes from being destroyed. And with the minimal staff they have on each day (there were only four firefighters on duty when four homes were destroyed this past summer), we and the other communities are at serious risk.
The main fire hall was good 20 years ago when Cochrane was still in the valley, but with Fireside, Riversong, Sunset Ridge and Heritage Hills located out of the downtown, 10 minutes with today’s homes is far to long.
A train will block two of the three crossings when it passes through town, and that leaves Highway 22 as the only road to traverse Cochrane.
Fire services need to be dispersed around Cochrane, not just solely located downtown. This was the point of the fire hall in Sunset Ridge.
The “future planning” the town has might save a few bucks now, but will cost many residents time, money, and their home now.
To do this in later years will cost more than what it costs now.
