Innisfil fire dep
partmen
nt must play ca
atch up:: consu
ultant
Friday Harrbour wou
uld need de
edicated fiire station
n Innisfil Journal by Bruce Hain Jun 24, 2013 ntemporaries but deficien
ncies need to
o be addresseed in the Innisfil’s fire department ranks highlyy with its con
near future, aa consultant ssays. Steve Thurlo
ow, a project manager of Dillon Consu
ulting, presennted the finall report of th
he Innisfil Firee Master Plan to counccil at a speciaal meeting Jun
ne 19. Thurlow calle
ed the extenssive documen
nt “a framewo
ork to help guuide council aand the fire cchief for next 10 to 20 years.” A lot of analyssis of fire stations, and the
eir locations, w
will be importtant in the neext couple of years.” He added, “A
New stationss in Cookstow
wn and Lefro
oy are being built and Thhurlow said, “their locatio
on and how they are staffed” require conside
erable attention. You have some siggnificant challenges facin
ng you. It’s council’s prerogative tto set levels o
of service.” Innisfil now employs 13 full‐time f
fireffighters and one o fire prevvention officeer as well as maintaining a sizable volunteer forrce. Innisfil could
d benefit byy sharing information and resources such as a fire training centre with
h nearby municipalitie
es such as Essa Township aand the Town of New Tecuumseth, he reecommended. Thurlow also
o stated the master plan should be viewed as “a living docum
ment, one thaat can changge as the economy shiffts and development spee
eds up, or slow
ws down.” The arrival of o the Friday Harbour reso
ort at Big Bayy Point, with its eventual large residential compon
nent, will require its ow
wn fire hall. TThurlow note
ed that the o
occupancy of units at Friday Harbour iss “reliant on having a fire hall prese
ent.” Plans are underway to haave a fire stattion operatio
onal in the arrea by 2015, although cou
uncil approval has not been given. esponded to 51 actual fire
es in the per iod 2007‐20110. In 2011, tthere were 287 alarm Innisfil Fire aand Rescue re
calls received
d, fire chief Raandy Smith re
eported. “Alarm calls are considered seriouslyy,” Smith said, noting maany were eitther false alaarms occurring up in ue to contracttors. seasonal residences or du
Mayor Barb Baguley said that 46 per cent of fire calls were due to medical emergencies and questioned if there was a way some of these calls for service could be directed to Simcoe county paramedics, reducing the frequency fire crews were dispatched. Smith said in terms of false alarms, property owners, or businesses could be assessed a 4410 fee if more than one false alarm is received in one calendar year. “If a call is answered by full‐time staff, our cost could be about $1,800,” Smith said. More attention needs to be devoted to public education and fire prevention, Thurlow emphasized. “We could target some vulnerable areas or citizens,” he said. Hands‐on training for volunteer firefighters is crucial too, Thurlow added. “It’s important to expose your volunteers to training how to fight a fire. Could New Tecumseth and Innisfil jointly operate a training centre for both full‐time and part‐time firefighters?” he asked. Council voted to approve the report, but not necessarily its recommendations.