Mississauga wants to hire 20 new firefighters in 2025.
The preliminary budget that has been tabled shows the new firefighters are needed to staff Station 124 which will be located on Cawthra Road just south of Dundas Street in the city’s east end.
Plans call for the new staff to be divided into four shits with five firefighters assigned to each shift.
Approval for the expenditure is needed by city council which will finalize the budget later this month.
The team and new station are going into an area that is considered to have a high number of calls and where travel times to fire scenes have fallen below standards
“Station 124 will improve response time in this area,” explains the budget book. The building is also being constructed to meet environmental performance requirements. It is expected to open in 2026 with training for the recruits to begin next year.
Also requested in the budget are three technicians needed to service emergency vehicles and equipment. and two dispatch operators to deal with an increasing call volume.
Station 124 is just one of five that are planned to open in Mississauga during the next 10 years to meet the anticipated growth.
Other planned stations are:
• Fire Station 123 (Collegeway and Winston Churchill Blvd.)
• Fire Station 126 (Mavis Road and Dundas Street)
• Fire Station 127 (Lorne Park community)
• Fire Station 128 (north Lakeview community)
As well, the city plans to renovate 17 of the 22 stations now operating. Of the 17, 13 of the stations are more than 30 years old and the fixes are needed to address health and safety, staffing composition, and accessibility.
In addition to the stations, capital investments are required for the purchase of new equipment and the refurbishment of existing equipment for the fire department.