MONCTON – Moncton’s fire chief says narrow roads and high snow banks continue to slow down officials responding to emergency calls.
Chief Eric Arsenault says the problem is especially serious in mini home parks. He says that’s partly because they are private properties with narrow streets.
“They start off as being narrower than our standard streets in the city and you start adding several metres of snow on top of that,” he said. “It really encroaches and makes these roads narrower and with the size of our fire apparatus, it is a challenge to navigate through these trailer parks.”
Fire crews faced narrow streets when they responded to a mini home fire at Pine Tree Park Friday morning.
No one was home at the time and no one was injured.
But neighbour Raymond Leblanc said it looked like the park’s narrow streets slowed down their efforts.
“When they got here it was engulfed in flame,” he said.
Other park residents say the high snowbanks and the narrow streets are a concern for everyone in the city.
Chief Arsenault said the snow is a city-wide problem.
“It’s certainly taking us longer to respond to emergencies regardless if it’s in the city of Moncton or outside the city,” he said, noting he understands that snow-clearing crews are doing what they can to keep the roads cleared.
Jeff Scott speaks for the City of Moncton Public Works and says crews are prioritizing access for emergency vehicles.
But keeping up with several major snowstorms has been a challenge.
“The whole city was in a condition where we needed to address everything at the same time,” he said. “So we took the approach of one widening pass to make sure that everything is safe and now we’re able to look at making things more functional.”
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