19 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

So, the fine citizens of VR successfully counter-petitioned the council into going to referendum for their new firehall.

...the original borrow amount was to be $7.9M

...View Royal city council reduced the borrowing amount for a new fire hall and public safety building from $7.9 million to up to $5.4 million in an effort to reduce costs for taxpayers.

Protective services chair Coun. Heidi Rast forwarded the motion and broke down the savings Monday night. First council agreed that they can take $500,000 off the cost of the building by going over the plans again to find savings.

View Royal also plans to borrow $1 million internally, from a sewage surplus, that could be repaid once the site of the old fire hall is sold. Rast suggested a further $1 million could come from various places, such as contributions from new developments and, potentially, from funding from the View Royal Casino.

http://www.goldstrea.../168782556.html

[David Bratzer]

The volunteer firefighters have put out a video about the condition of the current building. I hope this referendum passes tomorrow.

[David Bratzer]

The unofficial results have been posted. The referendum passed (64% in favour):
http://www.viewroyal...ors results.pdf

[sebberry]

From the looks of it they've outgrown the hall. Good idea to build a new one. I wonder what the 924 people who said "no" were thinking.

[SamCB]

From the looks of it they've outgrown the hall. Good idea to build a new one. I wonder what the 924 people who said "no" were thinking.

Probably thinking they don't want a property tax increase, and/or that amalgamation is a better solution.

Does View Royal really need its own fire department? It's a tiny municipality.

[VicHockeyFan]

Probably thinking they don't want a property tax increase, and/or that amalgamation is a better solution.

Does View Royal really need its own fire department? It's a tiny municipality.

Correct. View Royal has not had a fire that required outside assistance since 1994.

18 years.

[Lorenzo]

Does View Royal really need its own fire department? It's a tiny municipality.

I have asked myself time and time again whether View Royal should exist at all. A friend, and View Royal resident, told me this morning that there are only 3600 taxpayers in View Royal, but the eligible voters list was extended to tenants as well. So the renters voted for the new hall and saddled the property owners with the bill. The View Royal FD could have easily have been amalgamated with one of the three fully functioning FD's that share their border, whether it be Esquimalt, Colwood or Langford. I guess the residents of View Royal will be justifiably proud of their new "Hurst Castle".

[G-Man]

^I highly doubt that tenants would ever not have been allowed to vote in a View Royal election.

[Lorenzo]

^I highly doubt that tenants would ever not have been allowed to vote in a View Royal election.

Bad choice of words I guess. I'm not as eloquent as y'all!

[Bernard]

One reason we should all be interested in this fire hall is that it will be one with the task to ensure VGH remains safe and accessible in the event of a major earthquake. I can not see anything in any other municipalities emergency plan that deals with the needs of our primary hospital in the region.

[Mike K.]

You don't think there's a plan for the Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich FD's to assist the Jubilee in the event of an emergency?

[Bernard]

You don't think there's a plan for the Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich FD's to assist the Jubilee in the event of an emergency?

As far as I can tell in the emergency plans, no there is not. There is no plan to have any central coordination in the CRD in the event of a major disaster. Each municipality has their own plan and own command centre other than the three peninsula ones who do have some cooperation.

[VicHockeyFan]

As far as I can tell in the emergency plans, no there is not. There is no plan to have any central coordination in the CRD in the event of a major disaster. Each municipality has their own plan and own command centre other than the three peninsula ones who do have some cooperation.

I honestly don't think it matters. If we get a disaster so big, most everyone is going to be on their own anyway.

[Bernard]

I honestly don't think it matters. If we get a disaster so big, most everyone is going to be on their own anyway.

Actually it does matter a lot, on of the reasons Christchurch had fewer problems than we would with the same earthquake is because it was a single unitary local government and emergency response

[VicHockeyFan]

How many people in Christchurch were "rescued" ie. would have died within minutes or hours if not for the emergency services?

So I mean how many people were so mortally injured they would have died? Did any die awaiting delivery to the hospital, that would not have died with sooner medical care?

[Bernard]

How many people in Christchurch were "rescued" ie. would have died within minutes or hours if not for the emergency services?

So I mean how many people were so mortally injured they would have died? Did any die awaiting delivery to the hospital, that would not have died with sooner medical care?

Apparently a reasonable amount according to an article in the Lancet. More about the study at this link.

At 1251 h on Feb 22, 2011, an earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, causing widespread destruction. The only regional acute hospital was compromised but was able to continue to provide care, supported by other hospitals and primary care facilities in the city. 6659 people were injured and 182 died in the initial 24 h. The massive peak ground accelerations, the time of the day, and the collapse of major buildings contributed to injuries, but the proximity of the hospital to the central business district, which was the most affected, and the provision of good medical care based on careful preparation helped reduce mortality and the burden of injury. Lessons learned from the health response to this earthquake include the need for emergency departments to prepare for: patients arriving by unusual means without prehospital care, manual registration and tracking of patients, patient reluctance to come into hospital buildings, complete loss of electrical power, management of the many willing helpers, alternative communication methods, control of the media, and teamwork with clear leadership. Additionally, atypical providers of acute injury care need to be integrated into response plans.

Furthermore, the study recommends better and more integrated emergency prep.

Meanwhile overall the response was effective but not perfect to the earthquake. What worked well apparently was the response of the police and fire departments. What did go wrong was that there were still two authorities responsible in case of an earthquake and that the tensions between the two put property and people at risk.

From everything I can find looking at the Christchurch earthquake, if they had 13 emergency plans with multiple police and fire departments involved there would have been more people that died because there would have been no way to dispatch the resources to where they were needed in the first couple of hours. Just having a central communications centre seemed to have been crucial in the first 15-20 minutes.

[Baro]

I really fear how badly the region will botch any sort of disaster response if something big ever happens. Every time a minor incident occurs in the city the incompetence and disorganization is shocking. Yet they refuse to integrate, more concerned with their management salaries or even more insane things like "local pride".

[Mike K.]

In the event of a disaster Vic West might as well consider itself without fire protection and firehall resources. Even if both bridges are intact, the City of Victoria will be concentrating resources within the central area of the municipality. Those living along the border of Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich will likely have little to no assistance as each respective municipality will not be concentrating resources along the borders.

We're in for a tragedy of absolutely tragic proportions if a serious enough event ever occurs here, but the powers that be are unwilling to stand up to the podium and admit as such for fear of the populace demanding integration and amalgamation.

I mean think about it. How on earth can View Royal's firehall handle a dozen fires in that municipality? They'll be pushed to the absolute limit and no other municipality will be able to assist for days, if at all. And imagine the fury if, say, Esquimalt lends View Royal a helping hand while Esquimalt tax payers are struggling to overcome their own problems. It will be a nightmare any way you slice it with our patchwork of municipalities with their independent public services.

[Baro]

But can you imagine the damage to one's community pride if an oak bay resident was rescued by a firetruck that didn't say OAK BAY on it? It's just not worth it. I rather die after days being trapped in a collapsed building than lose some useless nebulous concept of "local government".

[Mike K.]

Oak Bay can barely handle emergencies on a sunny day in August let alone in the wake of a natural disaster. Heck, look what happened the other week with the gushing water main. Now think what would have happened had it been a ruptured gas line...

Time after time, major incidents in that municipality are botched either because the emergency personnel are inexperienced and out of practice or because their resources are simply stretched to the limit when an unusual incident occurs.