News that the RDCK is considering increasing the remuneration for firefighters “to better reflect higher levels of responsibility, training and commitment that volunteer firefighters are required to meet” has generated considerable local discussion.
Surprising to several who have commented to the Advance, the information that not all RDCK firefighters are compensated equally because each director is, according to a press release, “responsible for setting their own remuneration budgets for their fire services, in consultation with their Fire Chief(s).
As a baseline for comparison when the Advance gets information about firefighter compensation in fire halls from Yahk to the East Shore, Creston Fire Chief Mike Moore was asked to outline his department’s compensation policy.
“The Town has an incentive based system of remuneration for the firefighters and fire officers based upon training, years of service and performance,” Moore said last week. “In 2009, Council adopted this system to improve the remuneration paid to their firefighters as in many cases it less than minimum wage for training time and just slightly more than minimum wage for callouts. Based upon the training requirements, required commitment, and a survey of many volunteer department remuneration policies across British Columbia, Council adopted a wage scale which associated minimum training achieved, experience and commitment. There are five wage categories, which specifies specific training completion and a minimum of one year of time. In short, a committed person who achieves all the training each year will achieve the top rate in five years, coinciding with the completion of all the training requirements for a firefighter.
“The range for a starting firefighter is $13.50 per hour and is capped at $17.75 per hour for call outs. Training is remunerated at 70% of their hourly call out wage (or minimum wage), whichever is higher. Council adopted the policy that the reduced training rate will not be less than minimum wage in 2009. Fire Officers receive 10%-20% more per hour than the $17.75.
“Firefighters receive remuneration for standby shifts at $15 for a 12 hour shift. Standby shifts are scheduled every weeknight (6 pm to 6 am) and through the entire weekend and statutory holidays. The standby shifts provide assurance not only that there are five firefighters available for a structure fire, but allows the Fire Department to limit the number of people responding to other call outs, such as road rescue, first responder or open burning complaints. In this system, only two fire (personnel) would respond to fire responder calls, five for rescue, etc. to ensure that the remuneration costs are balanced to operational needs.
“Firefighters are remunerated for 2 hours for all call-outs, except for structure fires at night (between 6 pm and 6 am), there is a four hour remuneration.”
With 18 regional fire departments and more than 400 firefighters in the RDCK, the regional district has been gradually moving toward a consistency in training standards and compensation.
According to the press release, in November 2016, the Central Kootenay Regional Fire Chiefs Association (CKRFCA), which represents the fire departments in the RDCK, brought forward a request for the review of remuneration policies for firefighters. This was prompted in part by changes made by the BC Office of the Fire Commissioner to minimum levels of training and competency for firefighters in its Structure Firefighters Competency and Training Playbook (the “Playbook”).
“Ten years ago, fire departments were staffed by volunteers who spent a few hours a week training in addition to their time spent attending emergency calls,” said Stuart Horn, Chief Administrative Officer for the RDCK. “The landscape is very different today. Volunteer firefighters now spend six to eight hours per week training, and are required to meet the same standards as career firefighters. The volume of calls to our fire departments has also been increasing, putting additional demand on our professional volunteers.”
The remuneration increase proposed by the CKRFCA in 2016 was addressed in part by some remuneration budgets being increased in 2017.
The issue of firefighter remuneration was brought forward again as the Board initiated its 2018 Budget process. The Board has considered an analysis of options of firefighter remuneration prepared by staff. This included an analysis of what impact the different options being considered would have on taxpayers—with due consideration for the distinct needs of each fire service area, the tax impact, and the limits of service bylaws—and how those impacts would vary in different communities. The decision was to leave each Director to set a remuneration budget in 2018 and to work towards a Regional District-wide policy on remuneration for 2019.
“The goal of implementing a remuneration policy for the RDCK fire fighters is not only to compensate current firefighters for their time and effort, but also to allow fire departments to be better positioned to attract and retain firefighters into the future,” Horn said. “There are some fire department budgets that will be increasing in 2018 due to the additional remuneration costs, resulting in tax increases to our residents. I invite members of the public to attend one of the upcoming open budget sessions to provide their feedback, or to speak to their elected representatives.”
