Fire ban remains in place

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Randy Vezina confirmed today that North Bay continues to have a high fire hazard rating and so the fire ban put in effect on Thursday will remain in place for the weekend.

Vezina says the moisture content in the bush is almost non-existent and if a fire were to start in the bush, it would soon become out of control.

Vezina also says response time for in city fires can be severely compromised when a crew of five Firefighters and one truck is sent to rural locations several miles away.

“We are prosecuting those persons who burn during the ban without a warning, and if convicted we will ask the courts to impose a fine that represents double our cost to fight the fire,” states Vezina.

“one truck costs $350/hour, so we would ask for $700 per truck, per hour.”