Patrick Burke, the former Ontario Fire Marshal, urged city council to reconsider their recent cost-cutting changes to the Fire Department on Monday night, most notably their decision to reduce minimum staffing levels in an attempt to manage overtime. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI
The former Ontario Fire Marshal is urging City Council to reconsider its recent cost-cutting changes to the Fire Department.
Patrick Burke, currently a private fire services consultant, delivered a presentation at Monday night’s council meeting where he told the local politicians that North Bay is setting a precedent by reducing minimum staffing levels the way they plan to.
Backed by a standing room-only crowd of local firefighers and their families, Burke urged council to postpone their recent decision to find efficiencies in the Fire Department by reducing response time, minimizing overtime costs and reducing platoon size.
But his most burning issue was with council’s decision to adopt a new dynamic staffing model and reduce frontline resources.
Under that model, the minimum staffing levels can be reduced to 13 fire fighters per platoon down from 16 in an attempt to confront excessive overtime costs.
That decision, approved two weeks ago, essentially gives Fire Department management the ability to manage their own staff based on a constant analysis of the number and type of calls they are responding to.
They would also be required to re-identify the community’s risk levels on an ongoing basis and manage their resources accordingly.
But in North Bay’s case, the negatives far outweigh the positives, Burke argued.
“It takes away the ability to do all the simultaneous tasks that are required in order to successfully carry out interior operations, including rescue, at a single family residence,” said Burke.
“If the safety of the citizens in this community is not a top budget priority, the question is: what is a top priority?” he asked.
Burke, who previously served as the Niagara Falls fire chief and Windsor's deputy chief, insisted that the city put their decision on hold and complete a comprehensive risk assessment, something he says they failed to do in adopting the recent changes.
Instead, Burke thinks the city has carried out a vague cost-benefit analysis that doesn’t consider the true community profile and types of occupancy, all without consulting the public.
The result, he said, poses a threat to North Bay’s safety and puts firefighters at an increased risk of danger.
“You’re endangering the lives of the firefighters by reducing the number of people required to perform critical tasks,” said Burke.
Burke, who was asked by the North Bay Professional Fire Fighters Association to come to the community and assess the situation himself, said he thinks North Bay would be setting a provincial precedent by choosing to reduce the minimum staffing levels beyond what he thinks are required for adequate services.
“North Bay is the first community that I know that is going from having that capability to not having that capability,” said Burke.
Numerous councillors questioned him, including Mike Anthony who, while acknowledging their importance, said North Bay has the fifth highest per capita costs for fire services out of 26 similar sized communities in the province.
“We have lower incomes trying to handle higher per capita costs,” said Anthony. “In our case, locally, I believe what our chiefs are trying to do…is they are trying to find some balance in the ability to pay.”
He then asked Burke what he would do to limit the costs, which he said he wouldn’t even consider without first knowing what the inherent risks are.
When prompted by Coun. Chris Mayne, Burke continued to say he thinks the appropriate level of minimum staffing for North Bay should correspond with the National Fire Protection Association recommendation of 15-17.
Meanwhile Don Rennick took to the microphone to oppose Burke’s statements, arguing instead that the firefighters are just preserving their pay and resisting change.
But the firefighters in attendance silenced him in the middle of his presentation by parading out of Council Chambers following Burke’s exit.
Eventually, Rennick shed light on the average fire fighter salary and benefit packages, which he said increased to $135,000 in 2014 from $129,000 in 2013.
“If it wasn’t for the cost, we wouldn’t be discussing this at all,” Rennick said after he was allowed to continue. “They have priced themselves out of the market.”
In the end, Rennick tried to convince council that Burke’s statements were just scare tactics.
What do you think? Does the former Fire Marshal have a compelling argument, or should council stick to their decision?
