An automatic aid between fire departments in Hastings Highlands and Madawaska Valley is one step closer to reality.
That’s according to Madawaska Valley Fire Chief Corwin Quade who says after years of working on the project, it’s almost done. He says the agreement would see MVFD be the first responders to calls near the municipal lines between Madawaska Valley and Hastings Highlands.
The reasoning for this is because the MVFD can respond to fires in this area much quicker than firefighters from the Bangor Station. Quade says the calls are mainly for exterior fire suppression until firefighters from Hastings Highlands have responded. He says this includes structure, vehicle and bush fires.
However if there’s a fire in Madawaska Valley, MVFD firefighters would respond to that instead of one in the automatic aid area. Quade says this area usually sees three to four calls per year, and hasn’t seen a structure fire in nearly 10 years.
Quade says the agreement is nearing completion as the two municipalities are just working on wording at this point, but says it could come into effect as early as July.
