In its first meeting, on March 7, the 15 members of the Community Fire Hall Advisory Select Committee (ASC) identified what they recognized as concerns of the process leading up to the December 2017 referendum for borrowing for the proposed new Fire Hall. These, and other issues yet to be identified will be addressed as the Committee makes recommendations to Council for short and long-term solutions to address the deficiencies in the existing Fire Hall.
As a starting point, the process concerns identified for attention included:
- Communication
- Availability of information
- Trust
- Baseline of knowledge
- Rationale of cost and required space
After an initial meet and greet, the Committee was provided an introduction to Bob Turley and Ernie Polsom of FireWise Consulting Ltd., a British Columbia-based organization providing training and consulting service solutions to emergency service organizations, local governments, and the business community. Based on its extensive experience in all aspects of emergency services, FireWise Consulting Ltd. has been contracted to assess and provide a report on the current state of Creston’s Fire Hall. In addition, the FireWise team will participate in an advisory capacity to the ASC.
The ASC was formed to make recommendations to Council regarding short and long-term solutions to address deficiencies in the existing Fire Hall that result in a safe and healthy work environment for our emergency responders, that meets legislative/regulatory requirements and industry standards, and that serves the community now and for years to come.
ASC meetings are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on select Wednesday evenings from March through June 2018. Complete meeting minutes will be made available online at www.creston.ca when finalized.
