CANMORE – There are significant changes being considered for Canmore’s fire department beginning next year.
During recent operational and capital budget discussions by the finance committee, councillors are expected to consider a final report on options for a new fire hall soon. Also as part of budget deliberations a new sprinkler trailer was discussed for purchase and a significant staffing model change proposed.
Manager of municipal services Sally Caudill said the sprinkler trailer was included in the 2019 capital budget, however administration had not found a source of funding for the $150,000 piece
of equipment.
Furthermore, Caudill said the provincial wildfire agency has several sprinkler trailers Canmore could potentially borrow if needed for wildfire response.
“It is nice to have, but we have been able to manage fire protection without it,” she said. “There is always a bit of a question of how much gear you have for what might happen and a finite quality of how much we can afford to store.”
Storage of Canmore Fire-Rescue gear has become an issue for the department, and part of the reason it engaged a consultant to conduct a study on future spatial needs for the fire hall. Currently the department stores additional equipment that does not fit into the hall at 10th Street and Railway Avenue in sea-cans and at the Public Works building on Glacier Drive.
Caudill also cautioned that a fire sprinkler trailer would not protect large parts of the community, but could be strategically deployed in a neighbourhood for additional protection for 25-30 structures.
“Having this does not mean a wildfire does not happen,” she said. “It is important to recognize there are constraints with what this piece of equipment is capable of doing.”
Because it was unfunded in the capital plan, the committee, which is made up of council, had to pass a motion to include it in the budget. Mayor John Borrowman put forward the motion arguing it was an important piece of equipment for the community to have available immediately should it be needed.
The new fire hall was also included in the capital budget with $900,000 in 2020 for a design process and $12 million in 2021 for construction.
General manager of municipal infrastructure Michael Fark noted the dollar amounts would likely change once the consultant’s report is finalized.
“Those are placeholder numbers and depend on a lot of things that still need to be determined,” he said. “The final report is expected early in the year and based on that we may need to make revisions (to the budget).”
As for a new staffing model, it was part of an analysis done by Dillon Consulting and presented to council earlier this year as part of a Fire-Rescue Master Plan.
Currently, the department has two full-time firefighters on duty at all times to respond to calls, whether they are to assist EMS, an accident on the highway, a structure fire, or there is no ambulance available in the community.
But by the very nature of the type of call being responded to, the two staff members may have to wait until two more firefighters arrive at the hall to respond. This is especially true for structure fire calls, which require four firefighters on scene in order to fight a fire and affect the department’s response times.
The change would see four full-time firefighters on duty during three months over the summer, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – the time of year and day that calls for assistance are typically higher.
It represents a $92,000 increase to the operational budget in 2019. However, the fire department’s salary budget was also increased by an additional $180,000 and Caudill said that reflects actual salary costs seen over the past year.
The Town is also in negotiations with the International Association of Firefighters for its current contract terms.
