Fire department presents reduced budget for 2012

JOHN MOORHOUSE  Penticton Herald Tuesday, January 17, 2012
 Despite recent radio communication problems, the loss of 911 fire dispatch service to Kelowna has reduced the Penticton fire department‘s bottom line for 2012.  Fire Chief Wayne Williams outlined a proposed $4.2-million budget to members of city council Monday. That‘s down about $500,000 from 2011.  The Penticton department includes 32 full-time firefighters, two fire inspectors, an operations assistant, plus the chief and deputy chief.  The loss of five dispatchers, after the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen relocated the service to Kelowna in December, reduces the payroll by $462,000. However, Penticton must still contribute its share of the RDOS costs for the new Kelowna-based dispatch service.  Problems with garbled Internet-linked radio transmissions from the dispatch centre in Kelowna recently spawned criticism from the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department. Williams said although Penticton has also experienced some difficulties, most of them have occurred during daytime hours on weekdays when Internet use is highest. Last week, the whole radio communication system went down for a few minutes.  The Kelowna department now plans to switch to a different Internet line to correct the problem by the end of this month, Williams said.  “They‘re changing to a different line that doesn‘t have as many users,” he said. “But even if they don‘t get it, the captain has a cell phone and there‘s a ‘rip-and-run‘ in the truck bays.”  The printed sheet outlines the address and nearby cross streets of the site where a fire call originates.  Williams said aside from the radio problems, he‘s generally pleased with how well the transition went. He noted the new system allows the fire department to receive medical first response calls quicker.  Instead of waiting for a phone call from the 911 ambulance dispatch centre in Kamloops, the fire department is notified by computer link at the same time as the local B.C. Ambulance station.  Meanwhile, Williams is requesting council approve a $60,000 core services review for the fire department this year.  He noted the 2010 review of city operations conducted by the Helios Group consulting firm did not delve deeply into the fire department.  “We‘d like to look and see how we‘re doing things now. How it compares to other departments throughout the province that are similar to us and see if there is a better way of doing things,” he said.  The fire department was among several city departments to make budget presentations to council on Monday. Council‘s budget deliberations continue today, focusing on the Penticton Library, civic grants