Two relocated fire halls that would be combined with ambulance service are two of the recommendations coming out of a consultant's report into improving emergency services in the area in the face of a big increase in demand.
The report, prepared for the city by Operational Research In Health Ltd., says statistically speaking, a new downtown fire headquarters, including ambulance service, would best be located at the Paisley Road/Norfolk Street intersection.
The report is aimed at increasing service and response times.
It also said the optimal location for the city's west end fire hall, currently on Imperial Road, would be the intersection of Willow Road and the Hanlon Expressway. That too would include ambulance.
It says there will be a 43.5 percent increase in the demand for fire services in Guelph and ambulance service in Wellington County over the next 10 years.
The consultant's report was prepared for City of Guelph staff as part of a Guelph/Wellington Paramedic Services Master Plan currently in development.
A staff update will be presented to council's committee of the whole on Monday afternoon.
The consultant's report is based on statistical information, computer modelling and projections. It does not take into account other elements such as budgeting and land use and is only part of the information city staff will use to make recommendations to council sometime next summer.
The report is based on the last four years of fire and ambulance call data plus planning data supplied by the city, county and province.
The city is currently looking at the need for a new downtown fire headquarters.
The review is intended to meet the needs of the city and county and maintain or improve response times.
"Targets are not currently met by Paramedic Services in the County. A combination of both relocation of stations and increase of personnel hours and ambulances is needed to reach targets," says a staff report going to the committee of the whole.
The consultant's report shows that over the past four years almost a quarter of all Guelph Fire Department calls end up being false alarms.
Only 4 percent of calls over that period of time were fire calls. The vast majority - 60.6 percent - were medical calls. The other 13.7 percent were for "special services."
In 2015 the Guelph Fire Department responded to just under 7,000 calls, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year.
That number is expected to jump to 10,136 by 2026, said the consultant's report.
