On Tuesday, November 12, the Municipality of Cèdres and the City of Saint-Lazare concretized their desire to collaborate in the analysis of a possible sharing of the Fire Safety Service of the City of Saint-Lazare, by signing a 'a letter of intent.
Indeed, both parties have undertaken discussions and reflections on the future of their fire safety services. The City of Saint-Lazare is confident in its ability to increase its workforce, in order to ensure possible service for the Municipality of Cèdres.
Ultimately, the Municipality wishes to increase the feeling of security in the territory and offer the best service to its citizens. By entrusting the service of its territory to the Fire Department of the City of Saint-Lazare, the Management ensures that the service provided will then be improved. By the same token, the City of Saint-Lazare confirms its interest in recruiting firefighters from Les Cèdres to increase its number of resources to provide optimal coverage of the two territories. In this way, barracks no. 5 in Les Cèdres, which would remain in operation, would also benefit from an external guard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a service which is currently not offered in Les Cèdres due to lack of staff.
Furthermore, this initiative would aim to counter the issues facing the Fire Department, particularly in terms of recruitment and financing. Indeed, it is becoming more and more difficult to compete with the conditions of the largest fire safety services and to ensure staff retention. Moreover, the same goes for financial needs. More specifically, in order to meet the needs of today's firefighters, a new station should be built and new vehicles purchased. Unfortunately, the Municipality cannot afford to incur these expenses.
The two organizations are committed to continuing their exchanges and remain optimistic about the possibility of reaching a mutual agreement in the future. Moreover, during the month of December, the Municipality of Cèdres and the City of Saint-Lazare will jointly organize a citizen information session. This session will allow citizens of both cities to learn more about the subject and ask their questions.
To stay abreast of developments, you can visit the page dedicated to this subject on the Municipalité des Cèdres website, by clicking here: www.ville.lescedres.qc.ca/fr/service-feu.
