RalphSafety
10-06-2002, 11:20 PM
This article appeared in several Ontario newspapers over the weekend.
Province ‘monitoring’ Kingston fire service
By James McCarten and Whig-Standard staff
Saturday, October 05, 2002 - 7:00:00 AM
Local News - The Ontario government tried to douse a smouldering controversy yesterday by releasing a list of 15 municipalities under scrutiny by the province’s fire marshal amid fears of inadequate fire protection.
The list, which includes Kingston and Ottawa, was made public just hours after the president of North America’s largest firefighter union accused the province of trying to keep it a secret.
But none of the communities on the list are or ever have been facing any increased threat to public safety, said Tony Pacheco, executive assistant to Ontario Fire Marshal Bernie Moyle.
“If, during the course of our monitoring process, we felt there was a potentially serious threat to public safety, the fire marshal would act immediately to notify the municipality,” Pacheco said.
“None of the communities on this list are at the level of having a potentially serious threat to the community.”
The list consists primarily of municipalities that are embroiled in a debate about firefighting resources and have asked the fire marshal to mediate, said James Wallace, a spokesman for Public Safety and Security Minister Bob Runciman.
Kingston’s fire chief Harold Tulk said last night that residents should not be alarmed by Kingston’s presence on the list.
“There are a number of reasons for monitoring,” he said. “Right now, they’re trying to help us out with amalgamation issues. They’re offering advice and assistance.”
Since Kingston amalgamated with the townships on Jan. 1, 1998, the fire department has been restructuring and the marshal’s office has been monitoring changes since the beginning of the year, Tulk said.
He predicts the monitoring will continue for about another year.
“It’s a rather comprehensive process. It’s more of a benefit to residents at the end of the day,” Tulk said. “It’s been going very well.”
Earlier yesterday, the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters accused the province of trying to keep the list a secret and warned firefighting resources in Ontario and across the province are too limited.
“You need to know that in too many of your communities, you do not have enough firefighters,” said Harold Schaitberger, whose union represents more than 250,000 firefighters across North America. “I want my firefighters to have the same chance for survival and living that the communities want for their citizens. ... I want them to have the opportunity to do their job, and do it as safely as possible.”
The list is constantly changing, said Pacheco; communities are being added and removed all the time, which is part of the reason the office was reluctant to release it.
As well, there was the potential for incidents of arson in areas where firefighting services weren’t strong, he added.
“To make it sound like there are major safety issues out there is incorrect.”
The existence of the list was divulged by a representative of the fire marshal’s office during testimony at an inquest into a deadly house fire in Hanmer, a suburb just north of Sudbury.
Asha-Jade McLean, 3, her brother Ellias, 4, and their great-grandmother Pearl Shaw, 75, all died in April 2001 after their home caught fire in an area covered only by a single full-time firefighter.
The inquest issued 24 recommendations yesterday, including having two firefighters on duty at every station and better planning and training for all fire services.
Ontario’s guidelines are based on a formula that calls for 10 firefighters arriving within 10 minutes at the scene of a fire where there’s water pressure available, Pacheco said.
Obviously, that guideline doesn’t work in rural areas, where there rarely are 10 firefighters available at once and fires are often 20 minutes away, he added.
The other communities on the list were: Caledon; Cornwall; Gillies; Hawkesbury; Innisfil; Milton; Nairn and Hyman; Orillia; Pelham; St. Thomas; Smith, Ennismore and Lakefield; Springwater; and Sudbury.
Province ‘monitoring’ Kingston fire service
By James McCarten and Whig-Standard staff
Saturday, October 05, 2002 - 7:00:00 AM
Local News - The Ontario government tried to douse a smouldering controversy yesterday by releasing a list of 15 municipalities under scrutiny by the province’s fire marshal amid fears of inadequate fire protection.
The list, which includes Kingston and Ottawa, was made public just hours after the president of North America’s largest firefighter union accused the province of trying to keep it a secret.
But none of the communities on the list are or ever have been facing any increased threat to public safety, said Tony Pacheco, executive assistant to Ontario Fire Marshal Bernie Moyle.
“If, during the course of our monitoring process, we felt there was a potentially serious threat to public safety, the fire marshal would act immediately to notify the municipality,” Pacheco said.
“None of the communities on this list are at the level of having a potentially serious threat to the community.”
The list consists primarily of municipalities that are embroiled in a debate about firefighting resources and have asked the fire marshal to mediate, said James Wallace, a spokesman for Public Safety and Security Minister Bob Runciman.
Kingston’s fire chief Harold Tulk said last night that residents should not be alarmed by Kingston’s presence on the list.
“There are a number of reasons for monitoring,” he said. “Right now, they’re trying to help us out with amalgamation issues. They’re offering advice and assistance.”
Since Kingston amalgamated with the townships on Jan. 1, 1998, the fire department has been restructuring and the marshal’s office has been monitoring changes since the beginning of the year, Tulk said.
He predicts the monitoring will continue for about another year.
“It’s a rather comprehensive process. It’s more of a benefit to residents at the end of the day,” Tulk said. “It’s been going very well.”
Earlier yesterday, the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters accused the province of trying to keep the list a secret and warned firefighting resources in Ontario and across the province are too limited.
“You need to know that in too many of your communities, you do not have enough firefighters,” said Harold Schaitberger, whose union represents more than 250,000 firefighters across North America. “I want my firefighters to have the same chance for survival and living that the communities want for their citizens. ... I want them to have the opportunity to do their job, and do it as safely as possible.”
The list is constantly changing, said Pacheco; communities are being added and removed all the time, which is part of the reason the office was reluctant to release it.
As well, there was the potential for incidents of arson in areas where firefighting services weren’t strong, he added.
“To make it sound like there are major safety issues out there is incorrect.”
The existence of the list was divulged by a representative of the fire marshal’s office during testimony at an inquest into a deadly house fire in Hanmer, a suburb just north of Sudbury.
Asha-Jade McLean, 3, her brother Ellias, 4, and their great-grandmother Pearl Shaw, 75, all died in April 2001 after their home caught fire in an area covered only by a single full-time firefighter.
The inquest issued 24 recommendations yesterday, including having two firefighters on duty at every station and better planning and training for all fire services.
Ontario’s guidelines are based on a formula that calls for 10 firefighters arriving within 10 minutes at the scene of a fire where there’s water pressure available, Pacheco said.
Obviously, that guideline doesn’t work in rural areas, where there rarely are 10 firefighters available at once and fires are often 20 minutes away, he added.
The other communities on the list were: Caledon; Cornwall; Gillies; Hawkesbury; Innisfil; Milton; Nairn and Hyman; Orillia; Pelham; St. Thomas; Smith, Ennismore and Lakefield; Springwater; and Sudbury.