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Kincardine needs new firetrucks, better communication, says underwriters survey |
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Robert Aguiar (L) and Alan Pang outline the Fire Underwriters Survey recommendations for Kincardine's fire department Kincardine must upgrade its fire department in order to rescue its rating as determined by the Fire Underwriters Survey, conducted by Robert Aguiar and Alan Pang of SCM Risk Management Services Inc. of Markham.The pair came to Kincardine council last night (Feb. 17) and presented their recommendations which would restore the municipality's fire protection classification to a Grade 5 from its current Grade 6. The major three recommendations include: replacing two pumper trucks, increasing fire water pumping capacity, and improving dispatch communications. Another high priority is for Kincardine to provide additional raw water intake for the former Kincardine Township. The surveyors were brought in last year to assess the community's fire defences, including water supply, the fire department, fire prevention, emergency communications, building construction controls and hazards. These functions are measured against recognized standards of fire protection, such as the National Fire Protection Association and Ontario Fire Marshal Public Fire Safety Guidelines. The fire department is graded for the number of trucks, their age, type, and maintenance, number and type of firefighters, training program, fire prevention program, equipment carried on trucks, response times, plans for future growth and improvement, and fire department communications. While the former Town of Kincardine slipped a notch in its grading, the former Village of Tiverton hydrant protected area improved to Grade 7 from Grade 9, said Aguiar. Meanwhile, rural areas beyond the five- to eight-kilometre range of either fire station, remain at Grade 8-10, he said. Aguiar said pumper trucks 12-2 and 11-1 have both reached their acceptable life span (over 20 years) and should be retired from first-line duties. They can be used as back-up firetrucks. As for communications, the current system has numerous flaws that should be rectified, said Aguiar. "Most municipalities in Ontario score well in the portion of communications capabilities, resulting in a relative communication classification of Class 2 or 3. The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine received a relative classification of Class 6 in regards to the communications capabilities, resulting from our field survey and fire insurance classification evaluation." Deputy mayor Laura Haight asked if the report has gone to the emergency services committee, and councillor Marsha Leggett said it has. Haight said there is something missing from the report. It basically says what has to be fixed but not exactly how fixing those items would improve the fire grading for the municipality. "For example, if we switch to Hanover for our dispatching, does that improve our communications score to a Class 2? If we replace one pumper truck, how does that improve our score? I have a lot of questions which is why I wondered if you had gone to emergency services with this report."
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She also asked why some recommendations are calling for things that
have already been done, such as the additional water intake. "We
already have a reciprocal agreement with Huron-Kinloss in the Huronville subdivision." Kincardine supplies Huronville with water, and a valve system would allow water to flow from the township into the town's system, if needed. Aguiar said that system would not provide enough volume or pressure for fire protection in Kincardine. "But the information is not even in this report," argued Haight. "There is information missing from this report. The analysis of the pump testing of the pumper trucks, the number of firefighting personnel - do we need 50 or 60? What do we need to meet a high rating? This is not an easy report to read and there are huge gaps in it." Pang said the surveyors could provide more detail to fill out the report. In fact, a detailed, 185-page report could be sent to fire chief Jamie MacKinnon. Councillor Mike Leggett said the information is in the report, with a table of the pump capacity laid out for each pumper, and the recommendations for what needs to be improved. "What's missing," said Haight, "is the value of that to your rating. Each improvement is worth 'X'. What's required to bring it up to a five?" When asked about comparable fire departments, Aguiar said those in Hanover and Goderich are both rated at Grade 5, while Wiarton and Huron East are rated at Grades 6-8. "A five is a respectable level for a volunteer fire department," he said. Mayor Larry Kraemer pointed out that Hanover and Goderich do not have rural areas to service. "That makes it hard for us to achieve the standards you've set," he said. Aguiar said the grading covers the urban centres - former town and village - and the area within an eight-kilometre radius of each. "We're not necessarily looking at the area beyond that," he said. "But for the Sutton Park Inn area, hydrant protection would make a difference." He suggested the municipality get a new pumper truck for the former town coverage, and move the old one to Tiverton, then take one of the old Tiverton trucks and move it to the town as a reserve vehicle. And for medical calls, which fire departments receive a lot of, he suggested the municipality set up a utility truck with the required equipment on it, as other municipalities have done. "If you follow the recommendations we have outlined, you could move Kincardine to a Grade 5 and possibly Tiverton to a Grade 6," said Aguiar. Council thanked the surveyors for their work and will leave the report to the fire department to bring a recommendation to council. |
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