April 27, 2011
Town moving forward
on fire report
by Vance Gutzman
Deep River continues to move ahead with the recommendations contained
in the Ontario Fire Marshal's (OFM) review of fire services in the
municipality, though Mayor David Thompson is taking strong issue with
some of the things the OFM wants the town to undertake.
Thompson updated council last week on the efforts the municipality has
made to meet the targets that were laid down in the February report,
which was initiated by the OFM as a result of concerns stemming from
its investigation of a fatal fire last fall.
The OFM's lengthy review contained 11 recommendations, and Thompson
said the town is well on track towards meeting a number of them.
One of the recommendations was for the town to ensure the fire service
updates and implements standard operating guidelines for each service
it provides.
Many of those operating guidelines have now been updated, the mayor
reported, and will be followed up by additional training.
The OFM also recommended that that the town should ensure that the fire
department implement "a comprehensive annual training program" in order
to meet the level of service established both by council and
legislative requirements.
Here too, the town is forging ahead, with its firefighters having taken
two training courses to date since the OFM's report was handed down.
"That's good progress," Thompson told council.
"And there will be additional training opportunities as time and budget
permits."
In its report, the OFM also recommended that the town enhance its
communication system, because the portable radios used by the town's
firefighters are limited in their range, and can't be used to
communicate directly with dispatch.
Radios in the firefighting vehicles are strong enough to communicate
directly with dispatch, but they must be staffed to be utilized, so the
town has ordered portable repeaters to be installed on those vehicles,
Thompson said, which will increase the strength and range of the
portable radios.
The town has also moved forward with the OFM's recommendation that the
fire department implements a "proactive routine inspection program of
all higher risk occupancies in the municipality."
In making that recommendation, the OFM noted that a spot audit it
conducted with the fire department of four such buildings, including
the arena, found they were not in compliance with the Ontario Fire Code.
Thompson said last week that all 17 such "high risk" occupancies have
now been thoroughly inspected, and a report with the findings of those
inspections will be forthcoming within the next few weeks.
"Those building owners will be duty-bound to comply with what the
report says," Thompson said, noting the municipality will face the same
responsibilities for its buildings as private owners.
"Some of the remediation measures could be quite onerous," he cautioned.
Staffing levels
"There are still a number of recommendations that will be adopted in
due course," Thompson told council, but he is not happy with one of the
OFM's key recommendations regarding staffing levels.
"Based on OFM analysis of actual fires, the fire department is
conducting operations without sufficient staffing, and this places
occupants and firefighters at greater risk," the OFM's report stated.
The maximum number of Deep River firefighters that could respond to an
emergency is nine, the review noted, while the minimum number of
firefighters that would be required under the OFM's public fire safety
guideline "to conduct interior fire suppression (and) rescue safely,
effectively and efficiently at a moderate risk occupancy would be 16,"
with a two-storey, single family dwelling typically classified as a
"moderate risk."
In term of staffing, the OFM recommended that the town consider four
options.
The first would be to enter into talks with the town of
Laurentian Hills to establish a "jointly operated and managed fire
department."
The second and third options would be to implement a composite fire
department of 32 to 40 volunteer firefighters and nine full-time
personnel.
The two options differ only in the organization of firefighting
platoons, and the role of the full-time personnel.
The fourth option recommended the town increase its number of full-time
firefighters to 20, by adding 12 firefighters.
Thompson said last week he wasn't very happy with any of the four
options, because of the costs associated with them.
"I'm disappointed in the recommendations that came forward from the
Ontario Fire Marshal's office because they don't take into account the
municipality's ability to pay," Thompson said.
Thompson pointed out that, of the 161 Ontario municipalities with
populations under 5,000 people, Deep River is the only one with a
full-time fire department.
Thirty others, he said, have composite forces, while rest are strictly
made up of volunteers.
"Some of the other options that are everywhere else in the province
weren't provided as potential options here," Thompson said.
"We need the full menu of options."
The mayor also said that volunteer firefighters don't come without
costs either.
"Volunteers are not free," he said.
But he saved most of his wrath for the fourth option, which would
effectively double the fire department's full-time complement, and also
the town's firefighting budget, which was set at $1,058,478 in 2010.
"This is where the report starts to lack credibility," Thompson argued.
Councillor Daniel Banks said that the fact Laurentian Hills didn't want
to enter into discussions regarding the sharing of policing services
likely wouldn't bode well for the OFM's first staffing option.
"That option by itself doesn't seem to be workable," Banks said.
Banks noted that when he was on the campaign trail last fall, many
people told him they were open to the idea of revisiting how the town
delivers its fire protection services, in terms of finding a more
cost-effective manner of doing so.
"We welcome further comment from the community," Banks said.
"It's a discussion we need to have as a community."
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