news-Civic Centre

A report from the City’s Fire Chief for tonight’s meeting of City Council suggests that Fire Services under a new realignment plan has not been adversely affected by the reduction in crew size.
The report provides council with an update in the transition after a one year period which has seen the attrition of eight firefighters and the hiring of 4 paramedic supervisors and 4 additional paramedics.
The realignment plan approved by council a year ago called for the transition of up to 20 fire fighting positions over a three-year period  to be reallocated to EMS as well as addressing training, education and mechanical requirements of the Fire Division.
Fire Chief Mike Figliola says in the report that response times have actually gone down under the realignment which has seen on duty firefighters dropped from 17 to 13.
Both total calls and significant residential fires valued at over 25-thousand dollars are expected to drop this year the report suggests.
From a budget perspective, the initial phase-in of the new model has realized a net savings of 385-thousand dollars.