The only full-time fire department in the region whose members have not joined the Capital Regional DistrictB次元官网网址檚 hazardous materials response team may consider joining the specialty unit next year.
B次元官网网址淲e are working towards it,B次元官网网址� said Jeff Lambert, who took over as chief of the Victoria Fire Department last summer. B次元官网网址淭here are a lot of other things our department, like every other department, manage and wrestle with (to meet) the expectations of our citizens. To do everything for everybody is hard sometimes.B次元官网网址�
The regionB次元官网网址檚 13 municipalities and three electoral areas financially contribute to the CRD Hazmat Response UnitB次元官网网址檚 operating budget, which for 2012 is $290,000. This year Victoria taxpayers are chipping in $65,454. In 2011, they contributed $64,004.
The team would welcome Victoria firefighters, said Travis Whiting, who oversees the hazmat service as the CRDB次元官网网址檚 senior manager of protective services. At present, he is confident the unit is able to respond to incidents throughout the region.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think the program lacks for anything in regards to that,B次元官网网址� Whiting said, noting that team members still work with Victoria firefighters. B次元官网网址淛ust like every municipality (in the region) we practise, we train in their municipalities, and we respond anywhere that the call comes within the region.B次元官网网址�
Before Lambert decides to supply firefighters to the unit, the potential cost implications of doing so must be considered, he said.
If the department is operating with minimum staffing when a hazmat call comes in from another municipality, off-duty Victoria firefighters may need to be called in, the fire chief said.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 have to have benchmarks in there, a process that says if weB次元官网网址檙e below a certain staffing level we canB次元官网网址檛 send people off a shift.B次元官网网址�
There could also be budget implications if his team works overtime to train with the regional unit. There are six training sessions a year.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just that everything comes with a price, and itB次元官网网址檚 usually time. ItB次元官网网址檚 reality for us,B次元官网网址� Lambert said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e getting to the point with call volume that itB次元官网网址檚 really hard to train on shift, so for us, any training has to be done off-shift. ItB次元官网网址檚 a huge ticket.B次元官网网址�
There are other items the chief wants to check off his to-do list before he makes a decision. Negotiations on a new collective agreement for firefighters begin later this year.
B次元官网网址淭hat plays a part of it,B次元官网网址� Lambert said.
Still, additional training and expertise gained from being part of the regional hazmat team would B次元官网网址渂uild intrinsic value in our department,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 such a good service. It brings fire departments together from across the region.B次元官网网址�
emccracken@vicnews.com
