The BCPFFA recognizes the collective efforts in achieving increased staffing levels across BC, staffing levels that support both the public’s and fire fighters safety. Since the 2022 Civic Local Elections, we are now seeing approvals for increased staffing levels by respective city councils, in many cases playing catch up to the growth of the community. As communities grow, so must the critical infrastructure that supports fire safety and keeps our public, property, and fire fighters safe. However, many Professional Fire Departments are not keeping up with safe staffing levels and pose a risk to public safety as well as fire fighter safety, running lean budgets and/or staffing levels well below the NFPA 1710 standard. To learn more about safe staffing view this short NFPA 1710 video.
UPDATE: RECENT STAFFING INCREASES
The following cities have recently achieved significant growth strategies that put them on a path to safe staffing levels much of which was advocated by IAFF local affiliates and approved by Council.
Nanaimo council approved 40 firefighters over the next 2 years, and added 2 Fire Engines, staffed with 4 on each.
Township of Langley council approved 44 fire fighters over next 4 years; exploring 2 new halls;
Pitt Meadows council approved 8 firefighters to be hired in 2023;
Saanich Fire hired 10 additional fire fighters in 2022 and 10 more over the next two years;
Penticton council votes next week (Tuesday Dec 20) to approve 4 additional fire fighters bring their frontline engines staffed with 4 fire fighters.
Prince Rupert Council approved 4 additional firefighters in 2022, on top of the additional 2 hired in 2021, bringing membership from 18 to 24.
Burnaby council approved 20 new suppression positions (5 Captains & 15 Firefighters) for 2023, and approved $50M for 2 'sister fire halls' by 2023.
Details on Staffing Growth
Nanaimo Fire Department / Local 905
On December 1st, the City of Nanaimo Council unanimously approved the hiring of 40 additional full-time career firefighters for Nanaimo Fire Rescue!
Nanaimo Fire Rescue firefighters at the scene of a motor vehicle incident where the Trans-Canada Highway meets the Nanaimo Parkway at Cedar Road on Nov. 29. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
The first 20 firefighters will start on August 1st, 2023, and the second additional 20 firefighters will start on January 1st, 2025. The first 20 firefighters are specifically hired to staff a second Fire Engine in Fire Station 1, and the second 20 firefighters are specifically hired to staff a second Fire Engine in Fire Station 2.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue firefighters at the scene of a motor vehicle incident where the Trans-Canada Highway meets the Nanaimo Parkway at Cedar Road on Nov. 29. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
Local 905 President Chad Porter states, “This is the single most significant growth in Nanaimo Fire Rescue and IAFF Local 905 history; nearly a 50% increase in staffing over the next two years. We truly appreciate the support of council, and the investment into public safety and the safety of our firefighters.”
In addition to these 40 full-time firefighters, City Council approved using the $1,157,500 budget that was already approved for the purchase of a Heavy Rescue Truck in 2023, and topping that budget up to be able to purchase a Rescue Fire Engine instead, which is approximately $1,400,000. This Rescue Fire Engine will be both a Fire Engine and also carry extrication equipment, and will be a 5th front line fully staffed fire apparatus. City Council also approved using the City’s Strategic Reserve Fund to purchase another Fire Engine, at an approximate cost of $1,200,000 for the 2025 hiring group to utilize as a 6th front line fully staffed Fire Engine.
Township of Langley Fire Department, Local 4550
Councillor Tim Baillie, a retired firefighters himself, put forward the motion at the first Township council meeting since the new mayor and councillors were sworn in earlier this month.
On November 14, 2022, Township of Langley council unanimously approved to hire 40 new fire fighters over the next four years, a motion put forward by councillor Tim Ballie (retired L1271 member and BCPFFA VP Emeritus Member). In addition, councillor Baillie also mentioned the possible construction of two more firehalls (not part of the motion) and will be explored further. View Youtube recording of the council meeting. A month later the 40 firefighters was boosted to 44 or 11 per year over the next 4 years.
Pitt Meadows Fire Department / Local 4810
At last month’s council meeting, Pitt Meadows City Council unanimously approved the addition of nine career firefighters, which includes two lieutenants, six firefighters and one training officer. This investment in Fire and Rescue Services will cost $95 per year or $7.90 per month for the average single-family home. The recruitment of nine firefighters will commence in December with the goal of additional firefighters being in place in early 2023.
The city of Pitt Meadows expects to hire all nine new firefighters by early 2023. (Brandon Tucker/The News)
The city of Pitt Meadows expects to hire all nine new firefighters by early 2023. (Brandon Tucker/The News)
“We recognize the importance of providing the safest fire services model for the community and our firefighters,” says Mayor Nicole MacDonald. “This is a significant investment in our essential services and in enhancing community safety. These additional full-time firefighters result in a critical model shift from the current structure that has a high reliance on our Paid-On-Call members to a model with primary dependence on career firefighters. This model shift ensures that Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service will have fire and rescue coverage 24 hours per day, seven days per week.Read more…
New firefighter positions boost on-duty staffing with a new full-time medic unit
Saanich Fire Department Local 967
Fire Department staffing levels are increasing with the recent hiring of ten additional fire fighters to support 2 new 24/7 fire fighter positions at station three, furthering Saanich’s 10-year commitment to decrease fire response times and improve service as identified in the 2020 Fire Master Plan. Read more…
PURSUING ADDITIONAL STAFFING
Vancouver Fire & Rescue / Local 18
Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry says she will request city council provide $6.9 million in next year’s budget to hire 55 firefighters to help lessen the load on crews who continue to respond to a record number of fires and overdoses. Read more…
Surrey Fire Services / Local 1271 is working with the City on a multi year robust growth plan.
The Surrey Fire Service needs immediate attention with a growth plan for additional resources,” says Saverio Lattanzio, President of the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Association. “Fire fighters on the front line are stretched thin, suffering from burnout and in dire need of staffing. Properly resourced fire protection must be maintained to ensure public and fire fighter safety.
More than four-in-five eligible voters in Surrey (87%) support increasing Surrey Fire Fighters’ staffing levels to reach the average ratio currently seen in cities such as Vancouver, Burnaby, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa. Read more…
Abbotsford Local 2864
Abbotsford Fire Fighters Association has been pushing for an increase in staffing and apparatus response capabilities since 2005. Unfortunately, departmental staffing resources in suppression and prevention have continued to erode year over year. With the city's population growth, call volume has dramatically increased over the decade to put AFRS among the busiest departments in Canada in calls per career firefighter. Staffing levels simply have not kept pace. Multiple factors contributed to this deficiency. Unrealized AFRS Master Plans, poor communication among leadership in recognizing the issues and requesting proper support, and unnecessary financial restrictions imposed by the City of Abbotsford have all contributed to this deficiency in staffing. As staffing shortfalls continue to plague the Abbotsford Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 2864 will continue to advocate for safe staffing so our members can protect this community and get home safely to their families.
While calls have more than doubled over 10 years, hiring hasn’t kept up with that pace. “Firefighters are getting hurt and experiencing near misses,” they wrote. “Property loss is occurring, directly resulting from being understaffed. Our life safety is important. YOUR life safety is important. Simply put, we’re seeing the results of falling behind. Now is the time for the city to recognize it needs to catch up.” Read more…
Chilliwack Local 2826 reported that staffing in Chilliwack has been decreased due to funding. On September 26th a commitment was made by the Fire Chief and backed by the city to keep staffing on our 2 engines at 4 fire fighters. The reason was a person trapped in a structure fire and the first arriving engine only had 3. On December 2nd the decision was made to no longer back fill with overtime citing financial reasons reversing their earlier decision, which was based on safety of both the public and fire fighters. The Department noted that if there is such a need for 4 fire fighters and if IAFF members couldn't fill these shifts they would back fill with paid on-call fire fighters. In the 41 days of backfilling with overtime there were 159 overtime shifts. All of these shifts were filled by our 39 suppression members sacrificing time off and holidays. At this time the city is only hiring 2 new positions and 1 for retirement. They have budgeted 1 new position for 2023. The Fire Chief has set a final number of 48 suppression fire fighters and does not plan to hire anymore nor put any more apparatus into service. Read article by PressProgress
Our Mayor and Council sent us a letter in May of 2021 telling us they no longer would meet with the local to discuss staffing or any issues that our local has, this quite frankly puts the public and responding fire fighters at risk every day.
IAFF delegates on the final day of the 56th Convention unanimously adopted resolutions to censure local officials for aggressive anti-labour tactics and staunch opposition to legislation protecting fire fighters and paramedics on the job. Read more…
Resolution 37 – Censure of Fire Chief Ian Josephson. The Fire Chief for the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia, during his tenure has refused to work in collaboration with the Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Local 2826 and fostered a toxic working environment across the department. Josephson threatened legal action following receipt of a Harvard Study critical of his leadership.
“This censure will show that fire fighters across the great union have their backs, and hopefully we can get someone else to lead this department,” said Mike Carter, IAFF 6th District Vice President.
Kitimat Local 1304: Seeking 40 more Firefighters
The firefighters union is calling on the District of Kitimat to increase staffing, saying the current level puts people at risk locally because of an increasing call volume.
“Too often you see changes happen only after there has been a tragedy,” said Justin Medeiros, president of the Kitimat Firefighters Association.. “Council needs to take immediate action before it’s too late.” Based on current activity, he said requests for service will hit approximately 3,200 calls this year and that’s enough to require 40 firefighters. Read more…
Penticton Local 1399
Campbell Watt announced at the conclusion of Tuesday night’s meeting he’s bringing a notice of motion to the Dec. 20 session that will call for the immediate hiring of four new firefighters without any direct hit to taxes.Read more…
What is NFPA 1710?
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), offers standards on everything from the coat a firefighter wears into a fire; to the time it takes 911 to answer and dispatch a fire truck to an emergency; to the number of firefighters needed to safely and efficiently fight a fire; to how many firefighters should be on a truck.
Ultimately, Fire Departments need to meet safe staffing standards to ensure both public and fire fighter safety.
NFPA 1710 provides the minimum requirements relating to the organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations to the public by career fire departments.
Fire Fighting is a science, and how many fire fighters show up when you call 911 should not come down to politics.
The NFPA 1710 standard is based on science and research and it says fire engines and ladders should always each have a minimum of four firefighters.
Our industry uses a standard called NFPA 1710 to determine how to properly staff fire halls, fire trucks and ambulances.
For the 2016 edition of the standard, subsection 5.2.4 on fire department service deployment was revised to include three new occupancies, along with the appropriate response staffing levels for each. The minimum staffing level for each occupancy is listed below. (For the full breakdown of staffing requirements by position, refer to the subsections specific to each occupancy in 5.2.4.) Read more…