RAINY RIVER — The Town of Rainy River will use $225,000 in new provincial funding to upgrade various aspects of its emergency response capabilities.
Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford was in the Northwestern Ontario town on Thursday to formally make the announcement and greet Rainy River mayor Deborah Ewald at a community barbecue.
Of the funding announced, $180,000 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation will go to upgrading the capabilities of the local fire hall; Ewald said that will include expanding the training space, installing a dedicated clean room — where gear can be properly washed after a fire — and building an office for the fire chief who will now be working out of the Rainy River office.
“It's money that's going to be well spent and much needed,” Ewald said, adding that increasing the capacity for the local volunteer firefighters to train closer to home, as opposed to travelling to larger centres, will be greatly beneficial.
“It's hard for when people are working, and they have to take four or five days off to go for training, in, say, Thunder Bay or Dryden or wherever,” she said. “This way we can do the training right on site.”
The local fire department serves, not only Rainy River itself, but also Dawson and Lake of the Woods Township.
“These are important, mostly volunteer-driven fire halls, and so bringing a training room in and some upgrades to different kinds of response equipment, I think, is essential,” Rickford said.
Ewald said the hope is the NOHFC money will cover the total cost of the work, but the town will be able to top up any overruns.
An additional $45,000 from the community emergency preparedness grant was also announced on Thursday and will go toward upgrading emergency equipment and local communications systems to help during flooding season.
“Usually our biggest threat is (flooding) because we're right on the Rainy River,” Ewald said. “It’s stuff that’s been needed for a while … now, we'll be able to buy the stuff and we'll be right where we need to be.”
Rickford said it’s important to spread funding and attention around a riding as geographically large as the one he represents at Queen’s Park.
“In a big riding like this, it's very easy for people in the smaller communities to feel that they don't get access to programs and services from different levels of government,” Rickford said.
“That's not the case here today — we've been very well received.”
The town also received $20,000 towards the 2025 Railroad Daze festival, which was held in July.
-With files from Travis Glowasky
