Bravo Firefighter, nothing dispels social manure better than hard, cold facts. For the record, the next time there is a horrible accident, a home or business on fire or an electrical or gas emergency, call some of the depatment’s detractors. My suggestion, applaud the fire department, give them what they need to do their job, and if money needs to be saved - fire a few useless mammary glands at city hall.
Sounds like someone needs to pay a visit to the fire Dept. You would find out that the numbers of firefighters have dropped dramtically, the numbers of fires are still up- sometimes as many as 2 a week, not including medical calls, fire inspections, school drills etc. As for going volunteers, the city have been trying to get volunteers for years. Seems jerks like your self would rather bitch and complain about the great service the FD provides but don’t want to or aren’t qualified to be a volunteer. Fire trucks actually do wear out, and the cost of refurbuishing a older truck is weighed against the practically of newer more user friendly equipment. You must be driving a datsun and wishing for a real vehicle. After you have tried out for the volunteers then you might have some basis to voice your soundless words, till then poke it back where the sun don’t shine.
The firemen in this town have always showed much dedication and pride , their services have been used in many ways throughout the community, with their initial job as fire fighters , first alert services and community minded initiatives within the community. I would have been proud to wear such a uniform and be of such service to the population in general. Their are many good people on the crew in question and I support their truck and the efforts they put forward everyday. On the issue of volunteers , every group or organizations need this well deserved service but in a town of this size volunteers burn out very quickly from the demands out there.
[quote=“Smurfette”]
come to think of it was 450k to a half a million U.S. it was a high price tag for that truck. and a volenteer fire department is all this town needs we only get like 3 to 5 fires a year in rupert.
But before we toss the fire department, perhaps a review of other spending by the city would be best first.
In the end, ask yourself what is more important, funding essential services such as a police or fire department, or owning/operating a telephone/cable service, ferry transportation service to the airport and of course those city functions that could perhaps be off loaded to the private sector as well.
(Don’t even try to factor in the pulp mill mess which seems like a total sinkhole these day)
It seems that the city never seems to open up that debate, asking its residents what they really want to pay for and what they believe could be better provided outside of the city’s control.
It would be interesting to see what kind of list Rupertites would come up with if they had to make a decision as to what they can afford (or wish) to own or operate in these or any financial times.[/quote]
Way to go Smurfette!
What you are asking for or suggesting is real leadership and frankly the only way the fortunes of a community get turned around. Transparency and communication are vital to any process where a community makes hard decisions about it’s future. It’s when the citizens elect politicians that are not content with the Status Quo and who have the courage and smarts to tackle the hard issues head on that real improvements take place.
The examples you raise are all very valid and should be the focus of community meetings… not whether we need more trails.
Some one brought up the Terrace Volunteer Fire Department in comparison.
There is some interesting information in this link:
terrace.ca/residents/faqs/fa … fire_dept/
"How many calls does the Fire Department respond to in an average year?
It depends on the year; hot, dry spring conditions usually increase our call volume substantially because of grass fires. An average year would be approximately 175-230 actual responses."
Far less than there is in Prince Rupert.
"Is there any full time staff working on the Fire Department?
Yes, the Fire Chief, and eight full-time Firefighters and a part-time Administrative Clerk."
So technically it is not full volunteer.
"Am I expected to attend all emergency calls?
No. Although we encourage members to respond when available, it is our expectation that our Volunteer members would be available for about 50% of the fire-related calls."
Hmm… not sure how to comment on that one when I want the fire department at my house.
I wonder why the Terrace department would respond to fewer calls than the Rupert one? More people, more roads, more accidents, etc. Why would Rupert have 5 or 6 times the number of calls?
Something’s not right there. Maybe they’re only including calls that they include volunteers on? Or are there really 5 or 6 times as many fires, medical emergencies, etc in Rupert?
Edit: Looks like a small number in Kitimat as well. I think they’re only reporting fire-related calls. It’s either that or Prince Rupert really does have almost 10 times as many calls as Kitimat!
Like I said earlier, I don’t think the Fire Department is the big expense people think it is. There are many more obvious places the city could save money – Citywest, Watson Island, Airport Ferry, etc. Someone should calculate how many firefighter salaries the writedown of Citywest assets could have paid for…
As well, the “house insurance is more expensive in Terrace” thing is bullshit.
I haven’t looked at the numbers in a while but Rupert’s fire service costs roughly 2.1 million/ year while Terrace is about 1.5million / year. It’s a difference of about $600K / year but also a different level if service. There are really no guarantees with a volunteer based system as you may get 20 members showing up to one call and two or three to the next. Firefighting is labour intensive and time sensitive so in order to achieve desirable results you need to get firefighters to the scene quickly. One other difference between terrace and Rupert is that they have the ability to call Thornhill who can get 20+ volunteers there quickly. We don’t have that luxury here. The volunteers in Port Ed are a great group of dedicated guys but their numbers are too small to help and if they could they would likely be delayed and leave their own community unprotected.
Regarding the effects of fire service delivery on insurance rates, check out fireunderwriterssurvey.ca
The only numbers I could find were from 2005 (or earlier) and they list both Prince Rupert and Terrace as having a Public Fire Protection Classification of Class 5. 1 being the best possible protection, 10 being no protection.
I guess the PFPC is the number that the insurance people use to set rates?
Kitimat had a slightly better rating (4) than both Rupert or Terrace in 2005.
Edit: how I spend my Thursday nights 
Reading about insurance and fires.
Terrace Budget is for 1.4 million in 2010.
terrace.ca/documents/finance … get-BV.pdf
Prince Rupert Budget for 2010 is 2.1 million in 2010.
princerupert.ca/images/edito … alPlan.pdf
For the amount of calls Rupert responds to I think we are getting a good bang for the buck!
Write-down of Citywest assets? 20 million or so? Who has those numbers?
Next time someone brings up cutting the fire department, throw that number in there…
“I guess the PFPC is the number that the insurance people use to set rates?”
I’m no expert on how exactly the rates are set but that is my understanding.
It may be important to note that there has not been a survey done in our community since the late 1980’s I believe. Any classification is likely based on an outdated grade. Our fire service has felt the effects of the economy like everyone in the community has and our career numbers are down 20% from 5 years ago.
wow whats wrong with the datsun those are classic cars. come on never ever diss the classics man. the classics are better then the cars you can buy today with your 80000 bucks a year
I do not have any issues with the Fire Dept. or the job they do, but, the question of viability is valid in these tough economic times.
I do, however, think if people want to question our city’s expenditures, we should be looking at salaries of the executive and numbers of civic employees compared to cities of similar size.
I am not so sure if the city is paying anything on Watson Island any more, and I think that if the city coulld privatize the Digby Ferry, it would be a good start, in cutting costs and building public confidence.
Terrace has an auxillary fire dept,Thornhill is volunteer,the insurance rates are NO higher in Terrace than they are in Rupert.We have the most expensive fire dept in the province and no, it has not shrunk along with our declining population.We used to have a full slate of volunteers until the firemans union said they would no longer cover the insurance for volunteers.As to the trucks,why would they wear out?Well,when you us them for bullshit calls…why in hell does a fire truck show up for a fender bender?I have heard all the excuses from the fire dept about why this happens,so you wear out a fire truck,no for fires but for B.S.
Terrace does not have an auxiliary department, they have a composite department. They have 8 career firefighters and 20+ volunteers who do not receive pay. An auxiliary department is comprised of non-career members who are paid for the time they put in. Thornhill is completely volunteer with no paid firefighters.
We do not have the most expensive department in the province and our 16 members are currently the lowest paid firefighters of the 3000+ career firefighters in the province. Similar sized communities like Kitimat and Campbell River have similar sized departments with larger budgets. Also, our department has shrunk from 20 members to 16 since 2005 which puts us on the brink of not having enough people on shift to enter a structure fire. When our members argue for the need for staffing it’s because we have public safety in mind. The members of this department have seen enough tragedy throughout their careers and reducing us further would likely subject us to more.
You also raised the issue of the old, disbanded auxiliary force. This was not the doing of the firefighters union but a cost saving measure taken by management and administration of the day. They weren’t being utilized and it was deemed that they were no longer needed.
Regarding fender benders, we do not self-dispatch to these calls. We are there at the request of the police or ambulance. Even accidents that may look minor to you can cause significant injury which usually requires complete spinal immobilization and several people, especially if there are multiple persons/ vehicles involved and/or airbags deployed. Also, we respond to many of these because of the potential for fire as well. Often fuel will leak and hot engine/exhaust/electrical components may ignite it.
Let me add that I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion and our department will always have it’s supporters and those who think that our service model should be changed. I can’t stand by however while there are all kinds of claims being made based on opinion and incorrect information. Maybe I won’t change a single opinion of our service but some factual information may help. Im not going to allow the perceptions of our service in the community be based on the wrong information.
I am happy that you guys are there…keeping us safe. 
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i think the FD are doing a good job but it should be under different management i think the chief should be captain wolf not mckenzie. sorry dave but you are starting to get a bad rep in this town i dont know why you have such a bad rep. but its time to let go of the badge my friend