105.7 SUNFM 8/1/2012
A City of Vernon new release states - July 23 in an in camera meeting, Vernon City Council authorized the CAO to provide notification, to the Okanagan Landing Volunteer Firefighters Association President, that the City of Vernon will not be renewing the Fire Services Agreement upon expiration on January 31, 2013. "Tuesday, July 31st at 7:00 p.m., all active firefighters belonging to the Okanagan Landing Volunteer Firefighters Association were invited to join the Vernon Volunteer Firefighters Association, and provide service under the existing agreement between the Vernon Volunteer Firefighters Association and the City of Vernon," says Rob Sawatzky, Mayor of Vernon. Council's primary objectives with this initiative are to bring together all volunteer and career fire fighters into one cohesive fire fighting team. The benefits will also include a reduction in overall costs while providing skilled, well trained fire fighters to deliver the best emergency response to all residents. The community has been the beneficiary of fire suppression services from the Okanagan Landing Volunteer Firefighters Association since 1975. The service has been contracted by the City of Vernon since 1993 when the boundary extension brought the area commonly known as Okanagan Landing into the municipal limits. Vernon Fire Rescue recognizes the valuable service and high level of dedication of the Okanagan Landing Volunteer Firefighters Association during their contracts with the City. It is important to note that the members of the Association have a rich tradition and history. The objective is to combine the fire force without disrupting the ability of the Association to continue other community activities. Additionally, the recommendation positions all firefighters, including Vernon career and volunteers, and volunteers currently with Okanagan Landing, to benefit from standardized training, improved safety, economy of scale for budget requirements and a common goal of community service. Council endorsed the initial deployment of the new City of Vernon Fire Truck (Water Tender) to Station 1 located at 3401 - 30 Street. Locating the new fire truck in Station 1 will enable the training of all volunteer and career firefighters on the use of the truck before it is put into service. On completion of training, the new truck will be permanently deployed to a location which will provide the best service to the City. Chief Keith Green of Vernon Fire Rescue says, "Having the fire truck initially at Station 1 allows fleet services, our mechanic and our training division the opportunity to develop maintenance and deployment guidelines for the new apparatus which will help us to use our resources in the most practical and safe manner."
Both the Mayor and Chief Green say the hall will continue to operate with volunteers. Ok Landing Chief, Dan Fuhr says they just found out last night and the members haven't even had a chance to talk about it, but says they are disappointed the city decided not to renew their contract.
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