A new central EMS Station is in full operation on Seymour Street in North Bay.
The facility which goes as far south as Whitney, as far north as Temagami, as far west as Sturgeon Falls and as far east as Mattawa was shown off in a media tour on Friday morning.
The new facility which is on leased land owned by Christian Fortin, consolidates the two other stations which were located in West Ferris (Ferris Drive) and at the old hospital site on Beatty Street.
“What it will do for the service in the district is it will be centralized so you are going to have a better distribution, everybody is in the same location as far as training is concerned, we will benefit from that," said Jean Guy Belzile, Nipissing EMS Manager.
“We will have one building versus two buildings and being together and having that daily communications with your management staff, trainers will benefit from it.”
Belzile says the Seymour street location less than a kilometre away from the by-pass will help enhance response times across the district.
“It’s central to the highway, to highway 11 and 17 and it’s also good on Wallace road to get to highway 63 to Thorne, Eldee and all those locations,” said Belzile.
“This was the best location that we could find centrally in order to get the best response time possible.”
The 11,600 square foot facility also comes with more space and better atmosphere for the paramedics to work in, with improved showering and a larger lunch room.
The EMS Station also has room to expand if the facility needs it in the future.
The facility will have its official grand opening on Thursday, September 8th at 10 a.m.
The event is open to members of the public.