During the non-organized territory (TNO) portion of the Sept. 17 MRC Pontiac council of mayors meeting, a resolution was passed to explore the possibility of having Otter Lake’s fire department respond to calls from residents in a section of the TNO just north of the municipality.
MRC public safety coordinator Julien Gagnon explained that following a fire that destroyed a building earlier this year near Lac Annie, located near kilometre 30 of the Picanoc Road, the MRC was investigating whether residents in that area of the TNO would be interested in paying for fire coverage.
Currently, local fire departments have equipment for off-road rescues in the TNO, which stretches north of the MRC proper for hundreds of kilometers, but structure fires in the TNO are not covered by any municipal fire services.
Pontiac North Fire Chief Denis Chaussé said when he got the call for the Lac Annie fire, he spent about 20 minutes contacting Otter Lake’s director general and then Gagnon, to receive approval to respond to the fire just north of his coverage area. He said that there have been 2-3 structure fires in that area in recent years, but Pontiac North hasn’t been called.
“[TNO residents] know they’re not covered by the fire department in Otter Lake,” he said, estimating that there are about 60 structures in the area, including garages and outbuildings.
Gagnon pointed out that Otter Lake is unique, in that other municipalities have much further to drive to reach the TNO.
“It’s a specific situation, because officially the TNO, according to the latest census, has five permanent residents, and they’re all in what we call Klukeville, north of Otter Lake,” he said. “They have their snow plowed all the way up to kilometre 35, their school buses go up there and pick up kids. From kilometre 22, that’s where the TNO limit is. There’s about [ . . . ] two dozen cottages or structures in that little village. We want to know, especially after this fire, do they want coverage?”
Chaussé said his department could arrive at a scene in that area in 20 to 40 minutes, depending on distance and road conditions. Gagnon said he and Chaussé would be contacting property owners in the area shortly to gauge interest and work out a budget.
“If Otter Lake agrees to it, because I still have to get their authorization, we would sign an inter-municipal agreement that says, we’d like you to cover up to about kilometre 35 and about a kilometre off of the [Picanoc Road] in any direction,” he said. “It depends on road quality, that’s always the limiting factor. A truck with 3,000 gallons of water and the shocks don’t work that well on a washboard road.”
Gagnon said that no other inter-municipal agreement exists for fire coverage in the TNO, but that if all gets approved, it could be in force by next year.
“It’s a lot like any other municipal agreement, it will go back and forth for a couple months,” he said. “I could probably have it ready for the 2026 tax year.”
