Charlottetown would be 'better served' with 4 firefighters at 1st response, says union
CBC
The union that represents professional firefighters in P.E.I.'s capital city is joining a campaign that calls for a minimum of four people per truck to initially respond in emergency situations.
Under the current guidelines, if there are less than four personnel who are first at the scene, firefighters have to wait for volunteers to arrive before they can enter a building.
James Pickard, president of the Charlottetown Professional Firefighters Association, said four is the safest number for a first response.
"Currently in Charlottetown, we have three firefighters on that apparatus," he said.
"When we get on scene right now we're expected to wait there for a volunteer to come, and hopefully they come soon, but we think it would be better served for Charlottetown to have four people ready to work right away."
Pickard said it is difficult not being able to fully do his job while waiting for more members to arrive.
"We're doing a little bit more than just watching, but we are not able to do that interior attack right off the bat. That's very difficult," he said.
"Especially when you make your career about being good at putting out fires, [the] last thing you want to do is not put out the fires and stand around and wait."
The four-person guideline applies to career fire departments, where at least half of the firefighters are paid staff.
Charlottetown fire Chief Tim Mamye said his department doesn't fall under those standards because it's considered a composite department — most of the firefighters are volunteers with only a few paid staff.
"What they're referencing is a standard from the National Fire [Protection] Association... which is in regards to how career fire departments put their operations together and deploy for fires, emergencies and special operations," he said.
"We're what's called a composite department or a volunteer department.... The response protocol for that, there is no staffing minimum, there's staffing standards we meet and exceed in many places."
Pickard said he doesn't want the rules to be changed or for Charlottetown to become a career department, but he does think the city should hire more professional firefighters to help it meet the four-person standard.
The association is part of an Atlantic-wide campaign called 4 Firefighters 4 Your Safety, which is aimed at improving responses.
'Tis the season for cuddling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching holiday movies. And for people in B.C.'s Interior, that can increasingly mean seeing their home communities on display.
Every year, snowy owls spread their wings and migrate down to the Prairies, where they enjoy access to plenty of rodent prey in vast open spaces.
This month has been a busy stretch at the Upper Room Food Bank in Charlottetown.
N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland says she has received the final report from an independent investigation into education bodies in the Dehcho region.
P.E.I.’s auditor general says he’s concerned and disappointed that the projected deficit has doubled what government initially estimated it would be — and he's urging the province to balance its budget.
A man found not criminally responsible for stabbing five people to death at a Calgary house party is getting more freedoms but not an absolute discharge.
A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Toronto mother outside a supervised consumption site in Leslieville.
Russian olive trees — sometimes known as silver berry or oleaster — are small, ornamental plants with silvery leaves and black bark, and small yellow flowers and silver fruit that look like miniature olives. They’re pretty, but they’re a problem.
The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s fall sitting ended on Thursday after the territorial government introduced and passed a supplementary budget.
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, who stands accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was involved in an investigation into allegations that a leading Canadian defence journalist was a longtime Russian asset.
An Alberta panel aimed at finding ways the province can strengthen its autonomy has offered up seven recommendations, including options for referendum topics.
People won't be able to travel along B.C.'s Highway 3 without significant delays and detours over the holiday season, says the Ministry of Transportation.
Photos of a wooden box, allegedly used for student "time outs" at an elementary school in Akwesasne, drew shock and anger from parents this week and have prompted an investigation by the school district.