Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Call for
Increased Capabilities, Improved Public Safety

CHILLIWACK – Chilliwack’s professional fire fighters are urging the city to rekindle a plan to increase fire department resources, saying that recent fires have underscored the need for faster and more effective response capabilities.
Fire fighters want Chilliwack residents to be aware of the level of service they’re getting from current fire department resources, how directly it relates to their safety and how it compares to standards for fire department response so they can speak up for their own safety and advocate for better service.
Currently, only one of the city’s six fire halls is staffed full-time, a second operates 50% to 75% of the time depending on the time of year and staffing levels, and fire fighters from these stations respond with only two or three fire fighters on the first-arriving vehicle, which is not enough to perform interior search and rescue in a burning structure. According to B.C.’s health and safety laws, four fire fighters must be on scene before a burning building is entered. Until four fire fighters are on scene, fire fighters must wait outside, waiting for backup to arrive, letting precious minutes pass at a time when seconds can mean the difference between life and death.
The four-fire fighter rule is also contained in a science-based international standard for fire department response in urban areas. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 also mandates an initial response in four minutes 90 per cent of the time and a full alarm response of 15 to 17 fire fighters within eight minutes in urban areas.
“Chilliwack does not meet this standard and public safety is not where it should be as a result,” says Keith Corbett, President of the Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association. “Chilliwack is a modern and growing city and its citizens deserve effective fire protection, just like many other cities across B.C. and across Canada have,” Corbett says.
Chilliwack currently has 27 full-time fire fighters and 130 paid-on-call fire fighters. While the paid-on-call fire fighters are dedicated and serve the city well, they cannot provide a guaranteed response 90 per cent of the time. Response times average between 8 to 18 minutes or more when responding or when needed for backup to perform rescue.  It’s simply not enough time to expect to rescue people trapped in a residential fire when fire doubles in size every 30 seconds and toxic gases typically cause flashover in eight minutes from the time of ignition.
A previous plan to add four professional fire fighters annually was a solid recognition of the need to improve fire department capabilities in Chilliwack and would have dramatically improved response times and rescue capabilities, but the city cancelled the hiring’s for financial reasons.
“Money cannot override public safety all the time. It cannot be the deciding factor when it comes to saving people’s lives and property” says Lorne West, a Surrey fire fighter who is a senior official with the International Association of Fire Fighters, a leading advocate of public and fire fighter safety.
Even so, the cost of adding four fire fighters a year until the full-time complement reaches 40 would cost each taxpayer just about the cost of a Tim Horton’s double/double and a donut per month, West says. At the same time, better response capabilities lead to not only better survival rates in fires, but also a reduced amount of property loss for residents and businesses and reduced economic loss if fire damage to a workplace such as a store, office building or factory can be minimized and workers can return to work sooner.
West points to municipal budget comparisons which show that Chilliwack spends significantly less on its fire department per capita than other B.C. cities. Recent analysis shows that Lower Mainland cities allocate 10 per cent of their city budget to fire protection on average, which averages about $125 per capita, while Chilliwack spends just 5 to 6 per cent of its budget on fire protection, costing $54 per capita.
West also notes that building fire department resources and response capabilities doesn’t necessarily need to result in a tax increase, if public safety is recognized as a priority and existing municipal revenues are reshuffled to the fire department. It’s quite possible that two of the city’s stations could be staffed full-time with enough fire fighters to respond in four minutes to much of the city with enough personnel to conduct interior search and rescue the moment they arrive, with little or no tax increase.
“The citizens of Chilliwack have to ask their city, what’s more important than a lifesaving service like the fire department?,” West said.
“We urge the city to revisit its plan to increase fire department staffing and capabilities in the name of public safety, and we urge the citizens of Chilliwack to stand up and demand modern and effective fire protection, especially the ability to arrive on scene quickly with the ability to perform interior search and rescue.”
CONTACT
Lorne West
6th District Vice President
International Association of Fire Fighters
(604) 868-8730

The Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association represents 27 professional fire fighters in the City of Chilliwack, B.C. and is affiliated with the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, CLC.

Municiple Election 2011

Chilliwack Professional Firefighters want to let the community know that we will be out endorsing candidates in the 2011 municiple election. The candidates we have selected are willing to work towards safety for the community and safety for firefighters.
We have been busy working on questions and sending them out to all Municipal Council candidates, attending all candidates meetings and events. As well we are talking with and educating the candidates in our community on Firefighter safety issues. Through this work and the knowledge that we have gained we have offered our endorsement to:

• Jason Lum
• Ron Browne
• Phil Bruce
• Ken Popove

We are talking to the candidates and educating them on the below issues and concerns:

• Improving Fire Fighter safety by running 4 Fire Fighters on our initial response engines. Having 4 on an engine decreases the physical stresses put on the firefighters and increases their working time. This will meet "WCB" regulations and keep our firefighters from having to choose between the regulations and saving lives and/or property. This also gives firefighters the ability to make a difference when it matters most in the intial stages of the incidents.
• Supporting a plan to have 4 firefighters on each of the two career engines (40 firefighters in total) for the City of Chilliwack. This will offer the NFPA 1710 recommended minimum "initial response" level of service to a core portion of Chilliwack improving our community's safety.

Fire Fighters Press for More Staff

By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress
Published: August 24, 2010 8:00 AM
Updated: August 24, 2010 8:56 AM
A hiring freeze on career firefighters in Chilliwack until 2016 could put people’s lives at risk, warns the head of Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association.

“Chilliwack is a modern and growing city and its citizens deserve effective fire protection, just like many other cities across B.C. and across Canada have,” said Keith Corbett.

The firefighters’ group is going public in an effort to make the citizens of Chilliwack more aware of the issues they face regularly. Several recent fires have brought into sharp relief “the need for faster and more effective response” capacity in Chilliwack, he said.

One of the major concerns is the “four firefighter rule” — a Worksafe BC requirement that four firefighters be on-scene before a burning structure can be entered.

“Chilliwack does not meet this standard and public safety is not where it should be as a result,” said Corbett.

It’s become a serious concern for some.

“Every day that we roll around with only two or three guys on a truck, we have issues. Not one issue, but many, and it’s something we deal with on a daily basis due to staffing levels the city has forced on us.”

Several fire incidents recently, including the Aug. 1 fatal care-home fire on Little Mountain where a resident died, fall into that category, he argued.

“In that case we arrived with three guys, and there was someone inside the house. We couldn’t go in and get them, that’s the WCB rule. Those rules are in place for our safety. But the real time delay until two career engines can be on the scene is a factor.”

Until all four firefighters are on-site, the others must wait outside, waiting for backup, “letting precious minutes pass at a time when seconds can mean the difference between life and death.”

City council has been forced to make “some tough decisions” in recent years, Corbett acknowledged, citing budget and economic woes. Part of that included the plan not to go ahead with career staff hirings in the short-term for financial reasons.

So the city “puts on a good image” with its six fire halls and several fire trucks on the road “and as far as most people in the community are concerned, Chilliwack is well protected,” Corbett said. “That is somewhat true. But the question becomes how quickly those guys can arrive on the scene, because fire grows so fast, and every second counts.”

Only one of the city’s six fire halls is staffed full-time right now, a second operates half or 75 per cent of the time, depending on the time of year and staffing levels, and firefighters respond with only two or three firefighters on the first-arriving vehicle, which is not enough to perform interior search and rescue in a burning structure, he said.

Although there is no way to know if having four firefighters would have helped in the case of the Little Mountain fire, but it might have.

“The possibility is there,” Corbett said.

According to Chilliwack Fire Department numbers there are a total of 24 full-time career firefighters and 120 paid-on-call firefighters.

“The City fully supports the Fire Department and recognizes the dedication and hard work of our career force and paid-on-call firefighters,” said Mayor Sharon Gaetz, in an e-mailed statement. “They do an excellent job under extremely difficult and often dangerous circumstances.”

“Public safety is a high priority” for the city and “we are happy to work with the IAFF and emergency services providers to continually improve our effectiveness. We’re proud of our department and its record,” she stated.

The 10-year comprehensive municipal plan includes a schedule to hire four additional firefighters per year, beginning in 2016.

Since 2000 the city has “nearly doubled” the percentage of municipal taxation that goes to the fire department budget, and “nearly tripled” staff levels, she said.

“This includes the hiring of 14 additional professional firefighters,” Gaetz pointed out.

In the same timeframe, the city spent $9.2 million on capital investments including a new fire hall downtown on Cheam Avenue, new firefighting apparatus and equipment.

“We’ve also increased our investment in fire prevention and education by adding three positions dedicated to prevention, inspection, education and firefighter training.

But Corbett says it will take a little more to bring service levels up to where they need to be.

“Look at the Township of Langley. They made the decision to become a legitimate fire department in a short period of time, going from zero career firefighters to 80 in about 30 months. They made the decision to protect their citizens even during tough economic times.”

Response times average between eight to 18 minutes or more when responding to a fire call or when needed for backup to perform a rescue.

“It’s simply not enough time to expect to rescue people trapped in a residential fire when fire doubles in size every 30 seconds and toxic gases typically cause flashover in eight minutes from the time of ignition.”

Budget comparisons cited by the association show that Chilliwack spends significantly less on its fire department per capita than other B.C. cities.

“Money cannot override public safety all the time. It cannot be the deciding factor when it comes to saving people’s lives and property,” said Lorne West, a Surrey firefighter and a senior official with the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Lower Mainland cities allocate 10 per cent of their city budget to fire protection on average, which averages about $125 per capita, while Chilliwack spends just five to six per cent of its budget on fire protection, costing $54 per capita, according to regional comparisons.

“The citizens of Chilliwack have to ask their city, what’s more important than a lifesaving service like the fire department?” West said.

“We urge the city to revisit its plan to increase fire department staffing and capabilities in the name of public safety, and we urge the citizens of Chilliwack to stand up and demand modern and effective fire protection, especially the ability to arrive on scene quickly with the ability to perform interior search and rescue.”

Firefighters Want More Manpower

BY TYLER OLSEN, THE TIMES August 24, 2010

A lack of resources and manpower is compromising the ability of Chilliwack firefighters to conduct life-saving rescue operations, according to the Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association.

On Aug. 1, firefighters were called to a fire at an assisted-living residence in which an elderly man was trapped inside. But because the first truck to arrive on scene had just three firefighters, provincial rules forced those firefighters to wait for a second engine before entering the residence.

The engine arrived four minutes later, at which time firefighters enter the burning building and removed a 75-year-old man, who was then rushed to hospital. The man later died from severe burns and smoke inhalation suffered in the blaze.

Keith Corbett, president of the Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association, doesn't know if the presence of more firefighters on the first truck would have saved the man's life. But he says the public deserves to know that the current level of funding brings with it certain risks.

Provincial health and safety laws require at least four firefighters be present before a burning building is entered. But only three firefighters are assigned to Engine 1, at Hall 1, around the clock. At full staffing levels, two more firefighters are assigned to Engine 4, which is based in Sardis.

It was Engine 1 that arrived first at the Kenswood Drive fire, but those firefighters had to wait until more help arrived.

"There was a four-minute time gap there where they didn't have the ability to go in and grab the guy," said Corbett. "Four minutes, when you look at a fire doubling in size every 30 seconds, is a long time."

The four-firefighter rule is mandated by the province's health and safety laws.

"That rule is in place for our own safety. All of us are more than willing to run in and do everything we can," said Corbett. "But the rules have been put in place because guys have died in the past from doing that."

The firefighters also say Chilliwack doesn't measure up to guidelines set out by the National Fire Protection Association's rule book, which calls for "an initial response in four minutes 90 per cent of the time and a full alarm response of 15 to 17 firefighters within eight minutes in urban areas."

And Corbett adds that when a firefighter is away or sick, Engine 4 is taken off duty and all four firefighters deployed to Engine 1, which is based in the fire department's Hall 1.

"If you look at other communities, closing down an engine just isn't something that happens," he said.

Other Lower Mainland communities, though, don't spend as little as Chilliwack does on its fire department.

In April, fire chief Rick Ryall noted that his department was "by far the cheapest run department for a city our size."

Chilliwack residents pay, on average, just $54.10 for the department. That compares to more than $100 in Abbotsford ($101), Nanaimo ($104) and Port Coquitlam ($117). Only Mission, with half the people, was in Chilliwack's ballpark in the fire department's comparative cost survey in its annual report.

Corbett thinks the public should realize that you get what you pay for when it comes to fire services, and that current staff levels may delay life-saving rescue operations.

"With the amount you pay comes a certain level of service," he said.

"If the public decides they don't like that fact and they want us to arrive there in a timely manner and actually be able to perform a rescue, then they need to let mayor and council know that we need more guys.

"All my family, all my extended family live in Chilliwack and I would love to see them better protected than they are now."

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