Highrise emergencies are an inside job for Barrie firefighters.
With city council considering a rezoning Monday that could allow buildings between 22 and 46 storeys in height, how a top-floor blaze would be battled is a natural question.
Barrie Fire Chief Cory Mainprize has the answer.
“Highrise firefighting is done from the inside of the structure, using the built-in suppression systems or protection systems that are placed in the building during construction,” he told BarrieToday. “The use of aerial ladders for highrise firefighting is not generally used for our operations. Aerials generally max out around 100 feet (33 metres), which is usually at the seven- or eight-storey mark. Anything above that we don’t consider aerials for use.
“Often, the aerials are not even an option with these buildings, because you can’t drive all the way around them. You only often get access to the front of the building,” Mainprize added. “Everything is done from the inside.”
There will be pipes and waterways to every single floor, both ends and the middle, along with more fire pumps because of the additional height and the requirements to pump water that far, the fire chief said.
Council will consider final approval Monday of rezoning and Official Plan changes needed to eventually build highrise towers between Bradford Street and Lakeshore Drive, 51-75 Bradford St. and 20 Checkley St., as high as 46, 39, 36 and 25 storeys for 1,900 residential rental units, commercial space and a hotel.
“Forty storeys, that exceeds 400 feet. I don’t think an aerial in the world exists that big,” said Mainprize, noting the largest Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) aerial ladder is 100 feet (33 metres) and there are no plans to get bigger.
Emergency services are not part of the development mix yet for the Bradford/Lakeshore project, but will be at the building permit stage.
Mainprize says all building construction details are reviewed by BFES's fire prevention branch, for code compliance, to ensure all the life-safety systems are built in during construction.
“Obviously, the building is constructed to meet the Building Code and the Fire Code,” he said. “When they start to apply for a building permit, all that level of detail will be contained within the drawings and the BFES review team will go through the plans to confirm compliance.
“Some developers go above and beyond minimum code, with internal communication systems that they are not required to do under Building Code," Mainprize added.
Barrie firefighters would also do building familiarization with such a structure, going to the building as it's being constructed and doing on-site pre-planning prior to occupancy, so they are familiar with pumping systems, internal communications, staircases, etc.
“So when we do respond to these buildings, we have a familiarity,” Mainprize.
Barrie’s largest towers are 16 storeys, the Nautica buildings near the waterfront, and this project.
Some city councillors have said that needs to factor into their decision Monday.
“I would be much more comfortable if that building was in a similar range of height as the existing buildings,” Coun. Clare Riepma said of the proposal. “The first building is 25 storeys, buildings on either side are (16). How is that in character with what we’ve got there?”
The planning staff report has an answer, although not one which satisfies Riepma.
"While the height is significant in terms of existing development, staff do not consider the height requested by this proposal to be out of character in an urban centre, in particular how it relates the city’s goals of providing opportunity for a variety of house type and tenure, and increasing residential presence in the city centre,” it reads in section 27. “It is recognized that the proposed height of the tower structures is not currently represented in the City of Barrie. However, tall buildings are intended to be directed to this area of the city and numerous examples of this type of built form have been submitted for consideration."
“One of the issues that the developer has mentioned is that it’s a trade-off obviously between height and the size of the building itself,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said. “You can have the same number of units in a building half as high, but the building has to have twice the floor plate, which gives it obviously much broader shoulders and a much larger shadow impact, in terms of the width and area of the shadow.”
A motion to get further justification for the height of the proposal, and any opportunity to reduce heights to mitigate impact on surrounding neighbourhoods, lost 6-5 at the Nov. 30 meeting.
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie, voted for the motion because it might carry more weight than from a single council member.
“I had the conversation around height with SmartCentres (the developer) a number of times and they haven’t budged from that number,” he said.
Coun. Robert Thomson wondered aloud why further information was needed at this point.
“We wonder why we have trouble putting shovels in the ground? We don’t need to look much further than this meeting. This is the 11th hour,” he said. “We’ve got someone (a developer) who wants to come here. We should stop being the deterrent. This is a major development.
“I think we are actually stalling and delaying while SmartCentres would build tomorrow. We’re evolving as a city. I just think we need to get out of the way sometimes," Thomson added.
Councillors have also decided the site plan should be bumped up — approved by council, not just delegated to city staff, as is the usual procedure. There’s to be an overall site plan for the entire property, plus ones for each stage of development. All would come to council and require its approval.
Final approval of the rezoning, which allows the height, and the Official Plan amendment will be considered at city council’s Dec. 7 meeting.
