The core service review of the Bowen Island Fire Department came to council April 14.
The municipality commissioned the review from Dave Mitchell and Associates in part in response to a dispute between the island’s volunteer firefighters and the former fire chief last fall. The 200-page report lists 36 recommendations in eight areas (regulatory, staff and training, occupational health and safety, fire prevention, budget, strategic planning, response analysis and hazard, risk and vulnerability assessment).
Mitchell told council that the problems BIFD faces echo those in departments across the province.
Confirming firefighters’ training and qualifications is one of the priorities. The report says there’s evidence of a considerable amount of training on the part of firefighters but that there’s a lack of documentation to confirm said training. Suggested ways to address this include training assessments (requiring time and money) and administrative support to catch up on paper records, enter them into the new digital records management system and ensure future record keeping.
Under the provincial training standards (the playbook), firefighters’ qualifications must be documented and not meeting said standards opens the authority having jurisdiction (the municipality) to liability, said the report.
Under the playbook, there are three levels of fire operations: exterior, interior and full-service. Bowen is currently declared at an interior operations level, however 16 of the department’s 30 members are trained at the exterior level and five are trained to the higher interior level, though the report says that certificates from the Justice Institute are still needed to confirm this. Training and qualification testing to meet the interior operations competency would require “significant commitment” from members over the next 18 to 24 months, said the report. The report notes that firefighters have said they felt stretched between work, family and the department and dedicating more time could be challenging. The report suggests revisiting firefighters’ compensation and developing a more flexible system (noting other jurisdictions’ pay-for-training policies).
Given the department’s current qualification uncertainties, the report says interior operations should be formally restricted.
Acting fire chief Aaron Hanen (who has been handling the department following the departure of the former fire chief) said that meeting an interior operations level for a fire today would require all or nearly all of the five qualified firefighters showing up to a scene. However, part of the nature of a volunteer department is who shows up for which scene is uncertain.
Other recommendations include adding more firefighters to the department to ensure there are enough resources should there be multiple incidents or a single large one and establishing an occupational health and safety joint committee (as volunteers are considered BIM employees for compensation reasons, it’s BIM’s responsibility to meet safety regulation obligations).
As the island’s all-hazards department, dealing with a variety of incidents and emergencies, the report highlighted the need for investment in specialized training and maintenance of said training or entering into an aid agreement with mainland services, especially for specialized hazards (like a confined space rescue).
While the department is governed by bylaw, the bylaw predates the municipality (it’s from the old improvement district) and is in desperate need of replacement, said the report. As the province is in the midst of transitioning to a new fire act, BIM will have to decide whether to do this now or once the new act comes into effect, said the report.
The need for a municipal fire inspection program, a statutory duty under the Fire Services Act, as well as more diligence in fire investigations were significant points in the report. BIFD has not reported all of the fires covered by the Office of the Fire Commissioner guidelines or developed operational guidelines for dealing with fire investigations, said the report.
When compared with six benchmark communities (Gabriola Island, Gibsons, Grand Forks, Invermere, MacKenzie and Pender Island) Bowen’s department saw was below average funding on a per-capita basis ($101 compared to a $126 average) and the lowest actual amount.
Coun. Rob Wynen noted in the April 14 council meeting that the recommendations in the report involve a lot of money (more staff time, more training, reviewing compensation, new equipment and the new fire hall). Mitchell (and the report) noted that investment in the fire department is offset by lower insurance rates.
Hanen said that the response to the report he’s heard from the department so far is positive (they haven’t been meeting in person due to COVID-19 though some members are continuing online training).
“The fire department is on board and agree with the findings of the report,” said Hanen.
Hanen said they’ve got work started on about half of the recommendations.
When asked about the future of the department, acting chief administrative officer Dennis Back said he’s happy with how things are now going.
“There’s a sense of calm the department and there’s a strength in the leadership that Aaron is showing,” said Back. “And that bodes well in terms of, you know, the situation is working very well.”
Back noted that COVID-19 has hampered some progress in fulfilling the report’s recommendations.
Back put the review’s total cost (including follow-up work if necessary) at $55,000.
Council received the report and directed staff to create a priority-based action plan and report back.
