83 replies to this topic

[shoeflack]

Sounds like a partnership between the CoV, Dalmation, and Jawl for a new firehall at Johnson & Cook per CFAX.

 

 

https://twitter.com/...798707080740864

Edited by shoeflack, 19 March 2018 - 10:24 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

Johnson and Cook?  Mazda lot?

[Rob Randall]

The Mazda lot or the Gemi hair salon? I'm impressed if the City was able to pull off a major public/private partnership. But I'm not sure why the firehall should be at this location instead of the current location.

[shoeflack]

The Robbins lot it sounds like...1025-1031 Johnson St.

 

Edited by shoeflack, 19 March 2018 - 10:30 AM.

[shoeflack]

CoV release is up...

 

http://www.victoria....ons-centre.html

[Victoria Watcher]

Since 1986, Rob Smith has been doing his part to keep View Royal residents safe as a volunteer firefighter with View Royal Fire Rescue, and as he gets ready to hang up his helmet, the community he served has recognized his dedication to duty.

 

On Oct. 31, outgoing Mayor David Screech formally recognized Smith with a plaque and celebration at the fire hall as one of his last official acts as Mayor.

 

“It was exciting, but sad at the same time, because I am going to be retiring from the fire hall,” said Smith. “It means a lot to me, but I think it means more to my family because they have always backed me up. They are pretty excited about me getting it.”

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vicnews....-in-view-royal/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 November 2022 - 04:20 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Saanich Fire Department is adding 10 firefighters to its Station 3 in Gordon Head to improve response times in one of the district’s largest fire-response areas and address the future needs of a rapidly growing area.

 

The expansion will mean on-duty staffing at Station 3 will increase to six from four, allowing for a full-time medic unit to operate in the area. Because of the round-the-clock nature of firefighting, five people are needed to fill one firefighter position.

 

“Adding the medical unit is a step in the right direction,” said Saanich Fire Chief Mike Burgess, adding growth in the area has made it challenging for the station to meet the established National Fire Protection Association response standard, which requires that the first arriving units be at the scene within eight minutes of an alarm.

 

“We have not been meeting that standard 90 per cent of the time like we’re supposed to be,” he said. “The growth and the density in that ­particular area has just crept up and it’s a busy haul and there’s more often than not a couple of things going on at once, which slows things down.”

 

Burgess said there are plans to add more staff two years from now to serve an area that’s seeing increased traffic, larger housing complexes and multiple homes on one lot.

 

 

https://www.timescol...ad-area-6236989

 

 

 

 

 

Not too sure Gordon Head is a "rapidly growing area".  But OK.

[Mike K.]

I’m guessing it’s the university heights and nearby projects that they’re referring to. Presumably that fire hall services Shelbourne as well? UVic maybe?

[AllseeingEye]

I’m guessing it’s the university heights and nearby projects that they’re referring to. Presumably that fire hall services Shelbourne as well? UVic maybe?

 

Correct specifically the FH just off McKenzie across from the entrance to UVic.

[Victoria Watcher]

The projected cost for the proposed public safety building project in Esquimalt has ballooned by nearly $14 million.

 

The project, which will see the replacement of the demolished former public safety building, was originally pegged to cost $42 million in February 2021.

 

But after tenders were issued in December 2022, the new cost jumped up to $62.2 million.

 

 

https://www.cheknews...-62-2m-1151127/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 May 2023 - 12:32 AM.

[Mike K.]

This is getting insane, isn’t it?

Why stop at $62M? Why not just go all the way to $100.

Now let’s extrapolate that to the Crystal Pool. If it was pegged at $100 million realistic cost in 2021, what’s it at now, $135 million?

[Victoria Watcher]

Why not just make the temporary hall permanent, the one they are using now?

 

Why do we need these high-end facilities?  Fires are on the decline.  As are chemical spills and severe car crashes.

[Victoria Watcher]

Comment: We should consolidate firefighting services



A commentary by the vice-chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, a non-partisan citizens advocacy group for municipal taxpayers.



https://www.timescol...ervices-7075682

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 May 2023 - 03:32 AM.

[Sparky]

^ Stan Bartlett either needs to move back to Regina or find another way to waste his time.

 

His opinion piece is slanted, biased and is not based on fact.

[Mike K.]

And you would have some good insight here. Can you elaborate, Sparky?

[Sparky]

^ OK first some examples of misdirection.

 

[...] There would be one command structure for a core area to service 260,000 people. Cross-border complexities create unnecessary hurdles. So, erasing those boundaries for fire suppression would simplify and potentially speed up dispatch times. Currently for the most part there is no cross-border complexities. Unless there is a massive event, each municipality handles their own calls. How can erasing the boundaries speed up dispatch times?

 

Response times for fire trucks (and other emergency vehicles) surely haven’t been helped either with the recent proliferation of traffic calming measures, speed bumps, curb extensions, medians and kilometres of bike lanes. What does this have to do with anything? All these things will still exist if there was an amalgamation of fire services.

 

In some instances, response times for fires are being delayed with the dramatic increase in drug overdoses. What does this have to do with anything? Are drug overdoses going to decrease with an amalgamation of fire services [...]

 

What the author has neglected to state, is that fire fighting in downtown Victoria is vastly different than in Saanich, Oak Bay or Esquimalt. A high-rise fire requires specialized training...and so does a barn fire loaded with hay and animals. Familiarity with local streets and buildings are also important.

 

The real problem that the fire departments have is underfunded prevention devisions. We need to spend more money instead of less. OK....settle down...hear me out.

 

Currently the prevention divisions of ALL of our local fire departments (who are responsible for making sure all of the required inspections and tests on the life safety equipment has been performed in accordance with Underwriters Laboratories (ULC) and National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) ) do NOT have the manpower, time, training and resources to perform their duties properly.

 

Prevention officers only check for a date on a tag that something has been done by somebody on a particular date. That's it. There are a lot of areas of improvement that we should focus on before we lump all the municipalities under one badge.

 

Did you know that there is absolutely no qualifications or pre-requisites in order to become a fire alarm technician? None.....and the fire departments just assume that all of the required tests and inspections have been performed properly without so much as glancing at the inspection and test reports.

[Mike K.]

Yes, some of those issues are relating to municipal politics, not fire fighting or their jurisdiction.

I can sympathize with the Surrey call centre issue. I once called, and unbeknownst to me, a Surrey-based call taker got hung up on needing an exact address for the call or she couldn’t dispatch crews. I didn’t know the address, I only had the location which any local would know. Ie. something like “the bluffs below Dallas Road, near Clover Point!” “I need an address sir, a specific street address.”

How do you square that? The move to a non-local call centre has got to be problematic.

[Victoria Watcher]

Let's take a step back and pretend there was no firefighting services in the region today.

 

Would you then place a department in each municipality?

 

Or would you take a much more realistic regional approach, like you have for ambulance service?

[Sparky]

^ The same could be said about municipalities. 

 

If you were starting from scratch today, I don't think you would make 13 of them. 

 

Your premise is hypothetical. 

[Victoria Watcher]

^ The same could be said about municipalities. 

 

If you were starting from scratch today, I don't think you would make 13 of them. 

 

Your premise is hypothetical. 

 

In both cases, it's no good reason to stick with the status quo.