(Today’s Northumberland file photo along with new Cobourg pumper)
The Cobourg Fire Department was down two main pumpers for nine days – that should be a concern to the over 20,000 residents of the community.
Essentially, and literally the town was down to half its apparatus for fire suppression and half the supply of pumping water.
In a nutshell, Cobourg Fire Department has four vehicles that can pump water.
In total, the water supply is equal to 24,000 liters per minute of water.
With two trucks out of commission for nine days, the first responding trucks which were an aerial (water supply 8,000 liters per minute) and a mini-pumper (4,000 liters per minute).
During that time the aerial was the first responding apparatus for fires and medical calls to assist paramedics.
But even with the fire department’s pumping capabilities down to half, town staff said Cobourg had enough fire trucks for the community.
The first incident involved a fire truck being struck on Highway 401 on February 3, 2025.
The truck was a pumper that can pump 6,000 liters per minute. It was scheduled to be replaced with a new pumper coming into service.
Another main pumper went out of service due to mechanical problems on February 10, 2025 and was back in service on February 19, 2025.
It also has a pump capacity of 6,000 liters per minute.
Cobourg’s newest addition to their fleet is a Rosenbauer pumper that is scheduled to be in service this coming week.
Town staff have repeatedly said that Cobourg has enough water supply, “to meet and exceed NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) standards.”
Also adding, “we have ample apparatus to extinguish fires within our community.”
With the aerial responding to medical calls, what happens if a structure fire comes in – what truck responds?
When there is a major fire in any area throughout Northumberland County, typically a “mutual-aid” system is called.
Mutual-aid is when other fire departments are called in to assist neighbouring fire departments when there is a major fire. With manpower and/or fire apparatus.
But with the mutual-aid system it would take time to bring in the manpower and equipment to a scene in Cobourg.
Depending of where a fire would occur in Cobourg, it would take a minimum of 10-minutes for the nearest department (Baltimore) to arrive.
Baltimore Fire Department has a Monday to Friday day crew working, but what if it’s after hours or the weekend?
Firefighters would have to respond from their homes to the firehall before making their way to Cobourg.
And in a fire, seconds count.
In the town’s latest response to Today’s Northumberland they stated, referring to the pumper that was struck on Highway 401 and was put of commission that, “Having any part of our fleet out of service does change our response.”
To put it bluntly – it does.
It changes the response because you are down to three trucks.
And when the second pumper went out of service with mechanical issues, it also changed the response.
An aerial truck is not commonly used for medial calls.
Because of the size, it may be harder to navigate on narrow streets and tight corners.
The other obvious question that might be asked – if Cobourg can do so well without two pumpers – why do we need them?
Are there other pumpers in the County that are surplus that could have been brought in for the nine days?
Cobourg is the most populated area in Northumberland County, but for over a week, the population was down to half it’s fleet and half the pumping capabilities.
And let’s be clear. Because the community was down the two fire trucks for that period is in no way, shape or form the town’s fault.
But with less and less media to bring awareness to the community of these issues it’s extremely important those public servants who give the answers, gives them appropriately and more importantly directly.
Everything worked out – this time.
Below is the last response provided by the town.
Cobourg Fire Department – Fire Suppression Capabilities
Cobourg Council sets the level of service for the Cobourg Fire Department as per the Establishing & Regulating By-law. The level of service ensures that the Cobourg Fire Department has enough apparatus and personnel to form a first response. The static level of trucks employed by the Cobourg Fire Department since 1999 has been three pumpers and an aerial which also has pumping capacity. AS we discussed any time we have any of our fleet out of service it does require us to consider how we would maintain the level of service for our community. Fortunately, emergency responders think in terms of extenuating circumstances and ensuring there are always back up plans in place.
Due to its size and structure, the Cobourg Fire Department follows NFPA 1710 Standards. The NFPA is not a mandated standard, but it is recognized as an industry best practice.
Mutual Aid
The Cobourg Fire Department has a long-standing Mutual Aid agreement with partner municipalities within Northumberland County. The purpose of that Mutual Aid agreement is to;
· support a community’s fire department at times when local resources are exhausted.
· offer quicker response coverage to areas that may be closer to a bordering fire department’s response area than that of the host department
· create an automatic response by bordering fire departments to properties that are closer to their fire stations than that of the host fire department
Additionally, to accomplish any level four calls, such as a structure fire, the Town of Cobourg would rely on our Mutual Aid partnerships for support. It is this Mutual Aid agreement that all departments in the County utilize as a back up for their own capacity to respond in their communities when extenuating circumstances occur. This agreement is supported and strengthened through regular joint training, meetings, and discussions amongst the Chiefs and the personnel across the County to ensure that departments understand each others capacity and resources, and they can work seamlessly together during emergency responses.
Accident on 401 Involving Pumper Truck 372
On the evening of February 3, 2025, the Cobourg Fire Department Pumper Truck 372 was side swiped by a transport truck on the 401 in a hit and run incident. The incident occurred as the CFD was responding to a vehicle in the ditch. Due to the damage incurred by truck 372 it was taken out of service. As we discussed, this incident, and incidents like this, are unfortunately happening more often. It is of great concern to the Town that our first responders are facing these types of dangerous events, and it is of concern that our rescue equipment is damaged in instances like this. Having any part of our fleet out of service does change our response. Until 372 could be put back on the road, the Cobourg Fire Department was using Pump 371 as their primary response vehicle and Aerial 394 as their secondary response vehicle to respond to calls.
Pumper 371:
Is a custom triple combination pumper.
It has a 20m hydraulic ladder which can be used as an elevated water stream.
Pump 371 can pump 6000 Liters of water per minute
Aerial 394:
Is a 30m platform triple combination pumper
Aerial 394 can pump 8,000 Liters of water per minute
The aerial is primarily used for industrial and high-rise fires
Pumper 373:
Is a triple combination pumper
Pump 373 can pump 4,000 Liters of water per minute
Scheduled Replacement of Pumper 372
Pumper Truck 372 was scheduled for replacement in March 2025. The Cobourg Fire Department first flagged the trucks replacement in 2021. Council approved $800,000 in the 2022 budget and an additional $300,000 in 2023. These trucks take several months to build, and the wait time can take almost two years, so orders are placed well in advance of their required replacement. The new Pumper 372 arrived at the Cobourg Fire Department on Wednesday February 12, 2025. The truck was immediately equipped with hose and readied for use that evening should an incident occur that would require it to be deployed. We also immediately scheduled training for the CTO and FF’s that day from each crew to ensure that each crew had a member trained in the operations of the new vehicle should it need to be deployed. We wanted to ensure training of all personnel on the new apparatus before it was put into regular use, so we took the next week to schedule that to ensure that all staff were familiar with all functions of the new vehicle. However, if needed, it would have been deployed to respond during that time frame.
Maintaining Level of Service Without Pumper 372
The full Cobourg Fire Department fleet consists of the following apparatus and pumping capacity:
A394- 8000 Liters per minute
P372- 6000 Liters per minute
P371- 6000 Liters per minute
P373- 4000 Liters per minute
From February 10th to February 19th, Pumper 371 was out of service for unscheduled maintenance.
During this time, the CFD employed Aerial 394 as their primary response vehicle and Pumper 373 was the backup vehicle. Additionally, the Chief notified community partners in the event that mutual aid would be required.
From February 3rd – February 10th – the CFD primary response vehicle was 371. During that time the average response time was 5min and 38 seconds (this time includes the turn out and road response time.)
From 10th – February 19th – the CFD primary response vehicle was Aerial 394. During this time, the average response time was 4min and 43second (this time includes the turn out and road response time)
As indicated above, Aerial 394 has the pumping capacity of 8,000 liters per minute. However, due to its size, it is primarily used for industrial and high-rise fires. The CFD’s primary response truck is 372 and we were eager to get its replacement back on the road as quickly as possible. Crews have been working diligently since it’s arrival on February 12th and the vehicle went into full service on Thursday, February 20th at 6pm. While the CFD response times from February 3rd – 20th met NFPA 1710 standards, had we not had Pumper 372 arriving we would have investigated the rental or loan of an additional pumper truck.
Fulfilling the Threats and Challenges Indicated in the Fire Master Plan
The goal of the Fire Master Plan is to provide Council, the Fire Department, and residents with an understanding of the programming and resources required to reduce, mitigate, or eliminate community risk as it relates to fire and emergency services. The Fire Master Plan was completed following a comprehensive risk assessment to ensure the recommendations meet the needs and circumstances of the community as defined by the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, (FPPA) and the Council-approved Establishing and Regulating Bylaw.
The Cobourg Fire Master Plan, approved by Council in 2023, indicated 53 recommendations. The CFD has completed significant work towards these goals. I have attached a status tracker on the recommended improvements so that you can see our status.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
