The Estevan Fire Rescue Service will be hard at work establishing its identity in 2015, specifically when it comes to its rescue services, as continued population growth could result in potential gaps in service if not all forms of rescue are properly accounted for, according to Estevan fire chief Shane Code.
“2015 should be the year we prepare for 2020,” said Code. “This year we have to start taking account of where the city is growing and going and what (the city) will expect from their fire service.”
One of the 17 bylaw articles that outline responsibilities of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service states they must perform rescue services. The fire department has, for a long time, performed rescue services to the best of their abilities and even expanded them with items like the recently upgraded hazardous materials trailer. Though still capable of fulfilling the duties necessary to operate at a high level, Code said the fire department and The City will need to analyze the approximately 15 different types of rescue involving automobile, confined spaces, low and high angle rescues, and establish which ones the department must train, and provide funding for.
“There is going to be a vibrant and healthy discussion in the New Year about what we can do and we should be doing moving forward,” Code said. “How do we ensure that we’re equipped, trained, funded and prepared in the all encompassing dragnet of ‘rescue’?”
Deputy fire Chief Dale Feser said nearby partners could provide options for expanding the department’s reach when it comes to rescue.
“We could potentially look to mutual aid partners within our response areas like mine rescue teams and Sask Power emergency response teams for a consolidated effort to overcome some of those issues as well,” Feser said.
Code noted he would like to see council become more involved with setting service levels for the Fire Rescue Service, some of it which can be based on the public’s existing awareness of their services.
“I don’t think it works that way right now,” he said. “We respond when called, council knows we’re there to fill in the gaps when we need to, and that’s fine because we want to be there to help, and the public is going to call for anything and everything.”
To address the push for increased fire safety awareness and a better understanding of what the fire department does, Code recently created a Twitter page for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, complementing their existing Facebook page, which is operated by deputy fire Chief Dale Feser.
As the population in Estevan grows, so does the potential for more false alarms, which Code said is easily in their top three types of calls. The heavy presence of industrial facilities and the increasing number of renters who perhaps don’t fully understand their fire alarm systems, he said, could be contributing factors to the problem.
Code added that 43 per cent of all house fires start in the kitchen.
The increasing population also requires a closer look at the workload a volunteer-based fire department has.
“It’s a given that if we continue to grow, eventually full time staff, or at least more full time staff, are in the cards,” Code said. “But first the foundation has to be laid of making the best possible use of the staff you got, which is not to be confused with their level of commitment, training or capacity. That’s from a management standpoint, looking at deployment patterns and discovering what can be dealt with by duty crews.”
Discussion and planning is going to be a big part of the Fire Rescue Service’s future, but large strides were made in 2014 towards their goal of becoming leaders in southeast Saskatchewan. Capt. Kyle Luc was elected to the national board of directors for the Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association in March, while his partner Capt. Charles Olsen, was appointed to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation as a Saskatchewan director. Alongside the two captains, Freser, who has been with the Estevan Fire Rescue Service for approximately 10 years, was appointed by his provincial peers to the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs as a zone Director for Division 3.
“We met and exceeded our expectations,” Feser said. “We wanted to put Estevan on the map and I think we did that.”
