A recent report from FireWise Consulting was the topic of discussion at council on November 8.
The report makes six recommendations to make what is already a good fire service even better.
Ernie Polsom of FireWise was on the line to discuss the report. He says the report is not a critique of the organization, but a snapshot in time. “You got to really find a fire department there and you’ve done a great job. Fire protection doesn’t start with the fire chief, it starts with mayor and council, Your Fire Department is committed to their community. They’re committed to delivering the services that the community needs.
But this strength is also the biggest weakness. “Tumbler Ridge is a complex little jurisdiction to deliver services and you’re a long way from others. The fire department needs to be more independent than a department in the Lower Mainland, where there are 15 fire departments within 20 minutes of travel time. Even if Chetwynd or Dawson Creek Fire Department were dispatched at the same time as your local folks, it’s an hour or more before help is coming. That means they need to be doing an awful lot of stuff.”
The single biggest concern from a protection perspective? Is not fire. “Certainly, climate change is impacting the occurrence, frequency and intensity of fires in your neighborhood. But the reality is staffing volunteer recruit retention. Almost all of our recommendations are anchored in one way or another to support being that critical.”
Polsom says that the District needs to bring the bylaw in line with the services the fire department provides. He points out the fact that there are some incidents—like a chemical spill—are uncommon, but they are highly technical responses and need to be handled by specialists.
Third, he says, Council needs to look at the fire station. “It’s one of the cutest fire stations in the province,” he says, “it’s well maintained, but it’s at the end of its designed life. That doesn’t mean its garbage or going to fall down or anything. It’s not supporting the operation of the fire department well. The administration areas don’t provide adequate space for staff, and the operational areas are missing a whole bunch of functional things, like decontamination showers.”
Fourth, says Polsom, there needs to be a strategy to replace equipment on a timely basis. These should, he says, take into consideration technology that would maximize “limited human resources.”
The fifth recommendation is for Council to instruct Administration to develop and present a comprehensive fire prevention program that builds on the successes of the current programs but targets identified community risks, including wildland/urban interface programs. The proposed program should include the resources required to implement the various elements
Finally, he says, the district needs to develop and implement annual reporting processes that provide Council with specific information on the performance and relative effectiveness of the District’s fire protection system. The report should provide context and support for annual budget submissions.
Chief Curry says that moving to a paid on-call system (which the department did earlier this year) will help with retention. “A lot of businesses will say ‘you can take time off and go for a call no problem, but I’m not paying you.’ That meant the firefighter was taking money out of their own pocket to provide a service to the district. Now that’s no longer the case. You can go to a call and you’re getting paid.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
