Homeowners here may get burned on their insurance costs if the town goes ahead with its restructuring proposal to reduce the number of full-time staff at the fire hall.
Mike McKenna, with the Fire Underwriters Survey which “grades” municipalities, noted staffing played an important role in their assessments. But he added it’s not the only thing.
In the Fire Underwriters Survey formula, the fire suppression section, which includes equipment, personnel and training, makes up 40 percent of its assessment. Other items considered are the water supply (30 percent), dispatch (10 percent), and fire prevention and public education (20 percent).
“We do a risk assessment of the municipality to determine what the fire department requires,” McKenna explained, adding that assessment is done every 10-12 years. “Personnel is very important.”
Fort Frances was last assessed in 1987.
McKenna wouldn’t reveal what the town’s current assessment was, saying they only released that if the municipality requested it or to insurance companies.
Meanwhile, Fort Frances firefighters aren’t happy with the proposal that would see the town rely more on part-time firefighters while cutting up to five full-time positions at the fire hall.
Greg Allan, president of the Fort Frances Firefighters Association, stressed the biggest problem they had with the proposal was that the fire department wouldn’t be able to provide the same level of service.
“To cut back that far and leave one man on the floor, that just makes our job more difficult,” he stressed.
It also could mean an increase in response time. Allan said while the pumper truck will respond to a call in the same amount of time, one firefighter cannot get things started until a second one arrives on the scene.
“It is a concern,” Fire Chief Ralph Fulford told council Monday night.
But Mayor Glenn Witherspoon said with provincial “downloading” and the loss of municipal support grants, the town was looking internally at ways to cut costs.
“The main reason is budget constraints in regards to the dollars that we have to come up with to run the corporation,” he explained.
As of yet, though, the savings from this proposal haven’t been calculated. The fire hall’s 1997 operating budget was $848,000, which includes emergency measures, 911, and mutual aid.
But the local firefighters association feared dollars, not community safety, was dictating the shuffle.
“Unfortunately, sometimes decisions are made with only the financial aspects looked at,” Allan argued, noting the 1994 Ontario Fire Marshal’s study on using volunteers versus full-time staff recommended staffing here should remain as is.
But Mayor Witherspoon stressed the town was not eliminating the full-time fire department.
“We will not, obviously, design a system that will jeopardize the community,” agreed CAO Bill Naturkach, noting the employees opting for the buyout packages by tomorrow’s deadline will not be able to retire until the town is satisfied the restructuring plan is sound.
Four–and possibly five–full-time firefighters are eyeing up the town’s early retirement package. One condition, though, is that those positions cannot be replaced.
As a result, the town is proposing to maintain eight full-time firefighters while upping the number of part-time ones to 30 (the full complement is now 18 although two spots are vacant).
One full-time firefighter would be the chief, one a training/equipment officer, and another a community safety officer (to comply with Bill 84).
That could leave one firefighter stationed at the fire hall during certain hours, or as many as five at other times, the report noted.
The part-timers would be divided into platoons of five or six, with one full-time firefighter/pump operator and team leader, if possible. The volunteers also would have to guarantee they would be on the scene if called for one week in every four or five.
They will be on a rotating paid basis.
“This is a footprint,” Community Services manager George Bell told council, noting he and Chief Fulford would proceed with a more detailed plan upon council’s direction.
“I think people should be aware that this is a proposal and that it’s not fait accompli,” commented Coun. Deane Cunningham.
Fire chiefs from Atikokan and Dryden, who attended Monday’s meeting at the invitation of council, noted response time in their communities is between three and 11 minutes.
Atikokan averages 13 of 20 volunteers responding to each call while Dryden averages 22 of 30.
“And I feel quite confident that we will get the 30 volunteers we need,” Mayor Witherspoon added.
The firefighters also have questions as to what the department will look like after the overhaul. Allan wanted to know if the captains would be replaced, and if the person who had been acting captain for 13 years would retain that position or will he be delegated back down to a pump operator–which he noted would result in a 10 percent pay cut.
And still up in the air is what will happen to the dispatch and alarm response system the fire hall monitors.
The five volunteer firefighters on hand Monday also questioned whether they could continue on if their employers wouldn’t let them leave their jobs during the one week they were on call.
Atikokan and Dryden have employers sign a letter agreeing to let a firefighter go on a call during work hours.
“They have half the calls we have,” argued local volunteer firefighter Rod Davis, noting many employers weren’t willing to let their employees go to a number of calls in a day.
In Dryden, about half the volunteers work for the town so they are the ones who stay later on the calls, with the understanding they could have time off the next day to sleep in if they were out late.
But Chief Fulford stressed he hired staff according to the person’s ability, not where they worked.
And volunteers questioned the added responsibility their work would bring.
“I, myself, have been there a year-and-a-half. I don’t feel confident going into a fire situation by myself. Not yet,” noted Bruce Roth.
A policy decision, along with more details, are expected to come back to council within four weeks.