A condensed look at a 225-page review of Yorkton Fire Protective Services was made public at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.
At the December 14, 2015 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting 鈥業n-Camera鈥� session, the Consulting Firm (Dillon Consulting) presented to the Committee of the Whole Council the Draft Report of their review for Yorkton Fire Protective Services, explained Chris Wentzell, Director of Human Resources, with the City.
鈥淚t was requested that Dillon Consulting complete and present a Final Report to the January 11, 2016 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting 鈥極pen Session鈥�,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his Fire Protective Services Operational Review (FPSOR) was initiated by the Council to assess the delivery of current of fire protection services within the City of Yorkton. The objective of this review is to provide Council with an informed analysis of options for consideration in defining a cost effective and efficient level of fire protection services resulting in the best value for the community,鈥� begins the Executive Summary of the Review. 鈥溾�� Reviewing the services provided by Yorkton Fire Protective Services (YFPS) is not a new initiative of Council. There have been several previous reviews and reports that have led to positive change and improved the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the YFPS. However, reaching a decision with respect to the level of fire suppression services to be provided and sustained within the community remains a matter of ongoing concern for Council.鈥�
The Review contains three strategic priorities that have been identified to guide Council in the decision making process of determining the desired level of fire protection services to be provided within the City of Yorkton. These include:
鈥� The utilization of a Community Risk Assessment to determine the fire safety risks within the City of Yorkton as the basis for developing clear goals and objectives for all fire protection services to be provided by the Yorkton Fire Protective Services;
鈥� The optimization of the first two lines of defence including public education and fire prevention, and the utilization of fire safety standards and fire code enforcement to provide a comprehensive fire protection program within the City based on the results of the Community Risk Assessment; and
鈥� An emphasis on strategies that support the sustainability of fire protection services and provide the most cost effective and efficient level of fire protection services resulting in the best value for the community.
The findings of this FPSOR are presented in the form of specific recommendations and operational model options. Specific recommendations of this FPSOR include:
鈥� That Council adopt the proposed strategic priorities identified within this Fire Protective Services Operational Review to guide the decision making process of determining the desired level of fire protection services within the City of Yorkton.
鈥� That YFPS enhance the current pre-incident planning process to include all moderate and high risk occupancies identified within the Community Risk Assessment;
鈥� That YFPS develop Quick Action Plans for use by responding fire suppression staff to fire related incidents in all moderate and high risk occupancies identified within the Community Risk Assessment.
鈥� That the YFPS develop an enhanced public education program designed to promote fire safety education and training of residents and staff residing or working in the major building occupancies identified within the Community Risk Assessment.
鈥� That the YFPS develop an enhanced public education program designed to promote fire safety education and training within the various demographic groups, specifically seniors and children, present within the major building occupancies identified within the Community Risk Assessment.
鈥� That YFPS investigate and implement an enhanced alerting process for off duty and on call firefighters.
A significant amount of effort has been put towards responding to the recommendations of this plan; however several recommendations remain outstanding, in our opinion, and are directly related to the scope of this FPSOR. Our analysis indicates the outstanding recommendations which are most relevant to this FPSOR include the following:
*Council consider implementing a by-law for the purpose of establishing the scope of service provided by the Fire Protective Services;
*Fire Protective Services brings forward to Council a deployment profile for their consideration; and,
鈥� The Department maintains a constant auxiliary firefighter component between 15 and 20 firefighters.
鈥� The current deployment and utilization of 鈥渁uxiliary firefighters鈥� is revamped and the hiring focus is changed to facilitate the hiring of auxiliary firefighters who are able to respond to fires and related second alarm incidents 24 hours per day seven days per week.
In the end the Review put forward five distinct options to how the City might address its fire protection services best. The options included one put forward by the then Fire Chief in 2012, and a second one developed by the current Chief in 2015, and three developed by Dillon Consulting.
The options were provided with an impact on budgets, should they be implemented. Four of the five options would increase costs from $262,000 to $1 million annually, while the fifth was estimated to reduce operating by about $445,000 annually, but increase capital by $36,000.
Council took no decision at the Committee of the Whole meeting, tabling the entire review until the Jan. 15, meeting of Council.
