Thorne council provided a statement at its meeting last Tuesday addressing growing concerns around how medical emergencies will be responded to across its territory.
Council voted at a May special meeting to decline an offer from Otter Lake’s Pontiac North fire department to provide Thorne with first responders – the trained individuals who provide basic emergency care until an ambulance arrives on the scene – while Thorne works to train its own contingent.
Thorne previously had access to first responders under a 2023 service agreement with Otter Lake. But this agreement ended on June 30, 30 days after Thorne council voted to enter a new deal with the Shawville-Clarendon Fire Department (SCFD) starting July 1.
Since the SCFD does not use first responders, and only one of seven active Thorne firefighters is a trained first responder as of June 30, the Municipality of Thorne no longer has access to this service.
Many Thorne residents have been vocal about the decision online, saying that the service is essential. Some of those residents packed the council chambers in Ladysmith on Tuesday to hear the council’s statement.
“As of June 30, Thorne Fire Department is not affiliated with Pontiac North. This decision was not made lightly,” read councillor Deborah Stafford.
“As councillors, we have concerns of transparency in the department. We paid 40 per cent of the contributions to the joint cost of the fire department,” she continued, explaining why Thorne’s council decided to opt out of receiving emergency services from Otter Lake altogether.
“Regarding the statements going around about the first responders and that we are not looking after our ratepayers, this is not the case. We always take our ratepayers into consideration [ . . . ] Council met many times and discussed it before making a decision to move forward.”
Thorne mayor Karen Daly Kelly said in an interview after the meeting that the option to remain with Otter Lake was never seriously considered by the council.
“It was along the lines of, ‘Do we really need them?’ All these years we haven’t had first responders, we had ambulances,” she said of the years prior to teaming up with Otter Lake.
She said due to the high cost it did not make financial sense to continue paying Otter Lake for this service.
“It’s not that cost-effective at this point, mainly because we’re developing our own private department and our own first responders. In the meantime, the ambulance is there.”
She said while she understands many residents’ concerns that turning down Otter Lake’s offer might leave a gap in emergency services, the ambulance will continue to service the territory.
Shawville-Clarendon fire chief Lee Laframboise, who as of July 1 is also Thorne’s chief, said first responders can play a crucial role in emergency response, especially in remote areas.
“If you’re far from an ambulance station, it’s good to have first responders because you can get there to save somebody quicker than an ambulance can,” he said.
But he said since ambulances often come from Shawville, the distance to cover is less, meaning that an ambulance can sometimes get to Thorne faster than the first responder.
“I did ask somebody, over the last year or so, being a first responder, how many times would the ambulance beat the first responder to the call? And that person told me, 50 per cent at least,” he said.
Kelly said her municipality’s proximity to Shawville played a part in the council’s final decision.
“[Otter Lake] needs first responders because they’re quite a swath [of an] area. They’re up north further, and we’re not like that,” she said.
Laframboise said while first responder services are a good thing to have, they are not an essential service, adding that only a handful of Pontiac municipalities have them.
“There’s only five municipalities out of 18 that have first responders [ . . . ] Shawville doesn’t have it, Bristol doesn’t have it [ . . . ] The essential service is the ambulance, so you’re still going to get covered.”
Thorne has put out a call for interest for firefighters and first responders, and has already received interest from people wanting to take the training. Laframboise said the department is trying to garner as much interest as possible, even if it takes some time.
“We’re going to make a team of first responders, there’s just a little time gap between when we quit Pontiac North and when we have a new group for Thorne,” he said.
He said the department has gained one firefighter since July 1, bringing the total to seven firefighters, four of whom are active. He said some were previously active with the Thorne department before the Pontiac North merger but have not been active for a few years.
“I’ve got to get them up to snuff for firefighting, that’s my goal right now. But that’s going to take me a couple of months,” he said, adding that he has received some applications for first responders and will organize a training when there is enough interest.
Anyone wishing to join the fire department or take first responder training can get in touch with the Municipality of Thorne.
