The Langford Fire Department refers to you as Mrs. Smith.
Well, itB次元官网网址檚 not just you B次元官网网址� they refer to all members of the community as Mrs. Smith.
And they want to provide high levels of service to each and every one of the Mrs. SmithB次元官网网址檚 in the community.
But the department has only eight paid staff and 60 volunteers, a rapidly growing population to serve, limited financial resources with which to do so and no more expected anytime soon. They realized years ago that changes were necessary if they were to continue to provide a level of service to Mrs. Smith that both they and the community could be proud of.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e gone from one or two calls a day to five or six calls a day,B次元官网网址� says Langford Fire Chief and emergency program co-ordinator Bob Beckett. The three stations respond to approximately 1,500 calls per year, he says, and thereB次元官网网址檚 no sign of it slowing down.
B次元官网网址淎s we transition from 18,000 people to 25,000 people to now 35,000 people B次元官网网址� and in the very foreseeable future, 40,000 people B次元官网网址� how is that sustainable?B次元官网网址� he asks rhetorically.
Six or seven years ago, not wanting to reinvent the wheel and knowing that change was inevitably coming, Beckett says, the department approached the International Fire ChiefsB次元官网网址� Association with a question: B次元官网网址淲ho has the most progressive composite fire department (both paid and volunteer members) in North America?B次元官网网址�
In reply, they got a list of names.
They found a department in Ponderosa, Texas, that had implemented a model based on very few paid staff, and volunteers on stipend, which allowed for a fiscally responsible department that could grow organically with the community and provide excellent levels of service.
B次元官网网址淲e took a look at it, and we thought that if we could get everyoneB次元官网网址檚 co-operation on this model, it was doable,B次元官网网址� Beckett says.
They tweaked the model a bit to work here, he says, as a way the department could provide better levels of service without jeopardizing other important programs in the community. They needed the new model to not pull money out of other services or programs, Beckett adds, because that wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be best serving the public, who also want B次元官网网址減arks and pools and roads and schools and everything else that makes this community great.B次元官网网址�
The new model sees one paid staff member and three volunteers at the station at all times, working in shifts, so they can ensure at least one engine can be manned at any given moment.
B次元官网网址淲e now have an engine company essentially staffed seven days a week, 24 hours a day,B次元官网网址� Beckett says.
The new model was implemented last September. In a recent report to council, the department illustrated the kind of results the changes have produced in just four months.
B次元官网网址淥n average, our response time has gone down three and a half minutes,B次元官网网址� the chief says. B次元官网网址淚f your loved one is having a heart attack, or if you have a room and contents on fire, three and a half minutes is the difference between saving a life or not, or losing a house or saving it. Fires double in size every 30 seconds, so B次元官网网址次元官网网址� he leaves the statement open-ended.
The department also feels the new model will help with volunteer retention, he says.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e blessed that we have such dedicated men and women in our community, but we were continually asking them for more and more each year, and we felt that we had to balance these things out.B次元官网网址�
Under the new system, volunteers on stipend remain at the fire hall throughout their shift, and are first to respond to calls. Only the most serious events B次元官网网址� those where more than one truck is required B次元官网网址� will require additional volunteers to be paged, which means more uninterrupted family time at home. Normally the department recruits an average of eight new volunteers per year to replace those who have retired, but this year, theyB次元官网网址檙e only recruiting five B次元官网网址� and all those retirements happened before the implementation in September.
B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 a great concept,B次元官网网址� Beckett says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 willing to bet that there will be interest in it from other communities who are trying to address their own municipal challenges associated with growth.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e doing something unique here and, I think, pretty special.B次元官网网址�
