Fire service event open to public input

Published: May 02, 2009 12:00 PM Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star

The smouldering issue of fire protection services in Vernon could erupt into raging debate Thursday. The city is hosting a meeting at 6 p.m. at Wesbild Centre so the public can provide input on the proposed fire rescue service review. “The whole thing is about public safety,” said fire chief Jeff Carlisle of his business plan. “We have response times that range from less than six minutes to 20 minutes which is three times higher than industry standards.” Much of the public focus has been on the proposal to bring the Okanagan Landing fire hall under the administrative structure of the downtown hall and to have two paid firefighters posted at the Landing hall at all times. Carlisle says that having both full-time and volunteer firefighters will ensure an improved response during an emergency. “It doesn’t mean we’re replacing the volunteers. None of that will be taken away,” he said.

That is also the view of Brent Bond, president of the Vernon Professional Firefighters Association. “They (volunteers) feel they are being eliminated but that’s not the case. There would be a composite service,” he said, adding that is how the Vernon hall has operated for decades. Landing firefighters have suggested that adding full-time officers to the hall will place a burden on taxpayers, but Bond disagrees. “For $2.71 a household per month, the benefit is worthwhile. The entire city will be paying for the same service,” he said.

Ed Forslund, Landing fire chief, is hoping residents will attend Thursday’s meeting. “They should be well informed of the costs and the call volumes in the Landing as well as past performance levels,” he said. “Coldstream is a larger community than the Landing and it has a volunteer service. Not everyone can afford to have a paid service.” Forslund stands behind the training his crew undergoes and their response times, even when most of them are at work or home when a fire occurs. “We average four to six minutes out the door,” he said. “We’ve had dual response (both halls going to a fire) for the last month and three out of four times, we’ve been on scene before them.”

Beyond changes at the Landing hall, the service review also calls for upgrades to fire dispatch, a hall at Predator Ridge and improvements to fuel modification to prevent wild fires. “We want to provide an equitable service level to all of areas of Vernon,” said Carlisle.