The Mill Bay fire department hopes it has finally solved its long-time staffing problems.
The department now has three full-time, paid career positions, which include a fire chief, training officer and a maintenance firefighter, as part of the department’s small volunteer contingent, the first example of a blended-staffing model among fire crews in the Cowichan Valley. Before this, all of the Cowichan Valley’s firefighters were volunteers, with no permanent paid staff.
Fire chief Ron Beck said the other two positions were filled earlier this year.
“This gives us at least three full-time firefighters, all of whom were hired internally, that will be here during the work days,” he said.
“Many of our volunteers work outside the Valley so not many are available to respond to emergencies when they are away during the day, leading to significant safety concerns.”
The department was frequently faced with having to call neighbouring fire departments asking for additional personnel to bolster its crews during emergency situations.
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But the neighbouring departments are also volunteers, which means that they sometimes struggle to meet their own emergencies, making it difficult to send their resources out of area to assist others.
Despite spending close to $10,000 and many hours on a focused multi-pronged and multi-media recruitment drive in 2017, the Mill Bay department was unable to increase its numbers.
The department, which is in an independent fire protection district that is overseen by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, responds to approximately 390 calls a year and its members are trained to the same level as professional firefighters.
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In consultation with the province last year, the department determined that adding $250,000 to its annual budget would cover the cost of wages and benefits for a four-person team of fully trained, qualified firefighters and first responders, and would add $75 per year to the property tax on a $500,000 residential property.
A statement from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made last year on the issue acknowledged that in some rural areas with small populations, it may be difficult to staff volunteer fire departments.
“Improvement districts have broad authority to deliver services within their scope providing they also meet provincial fire safety standards,” the statement said.
“This includes scheduling and remuneration of staff. Improvement districts are self-financing entities and may need to increase taxes to achieve their staffing goals.”
The tax impact of hiring the three positions has yet to be determined.
Beck said the decision to move forward with the establishment of three full-time positions was decided at the department’s recent annual general meeting.
“I expect the new positions will be reflected in next year’s taxes,” he said.
“Staffing problems are also occurring at other fire departments in the area, so they’ll be interested in taking a close look at what we’re doing here.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
