The City of Dryden’s Senior Leadership team is working to address fire safety and emergency risks in the community.

Councillors will take in a presentation from the Loomex Group tonight at their Committee of the Whole meeting after completing a Community Risk Assessment for Dryden – which has been mandated by the Ontario government by July of 2024.

A Highlight of the Loomex Group’s report includes the Dryden Fire Service responding to a five-year high in emergency calls in 2021 with 292 – with a five-year average of 254 responses.

The city’s estimated to have lost about $2.4 million in infrastructure due to fires last year.

Much of the community scored a moderate to a high fire risk on the assessment, with Loomex citing concerns over Dryden’s mill and forestry sectors’ fire risks, fires in homes with vulnerable individuals and a need to implement a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm program.

Other highlights include Dryden’s average age sitting at 45 – almost 4 years older than Ontario’s average, and 40 per cent of the population is over the age of 55.

Councillors will also begin looking at 2023 funding allocations for the Moffat Family Fund, a transfer to the museum advisory board’s reserve funds and a year-end report from Pam Skillen, the city’s Chief Building Official.

Tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall and can be found live HERE.

Voting on these matters is expected to take place during the city’s regular Council meeting on March 23, which begins at 6 p.m.