Saturday, May 09, 2009

Explosive debate erupts over fire plan

Published: May 09, 2009 12:00 PM

Raw emotion boiled over as both sides in the Okanagan Landing fire debate went head-to-head. Accusations, name-calling, clapping and jeering were the norm as about 150 people attended a public input session on the City of Vernon’s proposed fire service plan Thursday at Wesbild Centre. “This nonsense is out of control and we need to put an end to it,” said Keith Green, Vernon Professional Firefighters Association vice-president, of people who have called for some councillors and city staff to resign. “The people involved should be ashamed of themselves.” However, others claimed council has lost control of the process. “The people in the Landing aren’t asking for this so it’s a hostile takeover,” said resident Ed Devlin.

At issue is the proposal for the downtown Vernon fire hall to take over administration of the Okanagan Landing hall, which currently operates independently through a contract with volunteers. The volunteers would remain in place at the Landing hall, but paid, full-time firefighters would also be stationed there. “I want the best there is to protect me,” said resident Jerry Bifano of why he wants paid firefighters at the hall to improve response times. “Volunteers must leave their job, family or social event to respond to a fire.” That was also the view of Jack Blair, who stated that the Landing has grown beyond the capacity of a completely volunteer hall. “They have to be at work and they have families. The city is growing and we can’t expect those people to be there,” he said.Others indicated that the paid firefighters provide first medical responders, and that adding them to the Landing hall won’t be a significant cost. “We’d like to have the same fire protection as Vernon,” said resident Jennifer Caswell. Chris Kulak, a unionized firefighter, also made it clear that the business plan includes volunteers at the hall. “This isn’t about territory or an imaginary boundary,” he said.

However, resident Pat Lett questioned the need for changes when the Landing only has about 110 calls a year, including three structure blazes. “Does a hall with 9.1 calls a month require full-time manning?” he said, adding that volunteers are cost-effective. Rose Pollock expressed concern that unionized crews will cost taxpayers too much. “Council and administration need a financial reality check,” she said. Taking to the podium, Michael Sutch, Landing firefighter, defended the department’s actions. “The average response time is 4.16 minutes out of the door and not the six minutes distributed in newspapers and brochures,” he said. Former firefighter Darryl Payeur pointed out that crews at the hall have first-hand knowledge of the area. “We are equipped with people all around the Landing,” he said.

Instead of having full-time firefighters, Sandra Price says a satellite hall should be constructed at Canadian Lakeview Estates to improve response times to developments at the far edges of the Landing. “When they (residents) moved there, they didn’t see a fire hall standing there or within six minutes,” she said. With her son Ty next to her, Rhonda Cheyne expressed no concern about her family’s safety. “We definitely don’t need more fire service,” she said.

Divisions were clearly evident Thursday and concerns arose that this may affect the ability of paid and volunteers firefighters to work together. “They are all wonderful and we should applaud them,” said Joan DeBella.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Vernon fire chief Jeff Carlisle defended the process behind the proposal. “All of the information was on the table,” he said, adding that stakeholder groups, including the Landing department, were consulted. “It’s not a Landing issue. It’s not a volunteer issue. It’s not a union issue. It’s about customer service.”

Council could possibly discuss the service plan in two weeks, and Mayor Wayne Lippert says he hasn’t personally decided how he will vote. “Okanagan Landing is just one part of the city. The job of mayor and council is to look at the city as a whole,” he said.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

What a wise comment by the Mayor-ie meaningless as usual-waiting to see how others vote.