Fire department ponders storm protocols at high-winds area
CHANNEL-PORT AUX BASQUES, N.L. — The ChannelPort aux Basques Volunteer Fire Department is pondering guidelines to deal with emergencies that occur in the Wreckhouse area on Newfoundland’s west coast. The area is notorious for its often extreme and damaging winds. It’s also a necessary passage for vehicle traffic to travel east on the province’s highways.
The local fire department lacks an official policy for responding to accidents in the region, which regularly experiences hurricaneforce winds, particularly during the winter.
“It’s really been a judgment call,” Deputy Mayor Todd Strickland told Port aux Basques town council recently. Strickland is also the fire department’s assistant fire chief.
Strickland said drivers who ignore the posted wind warnings for the Wreckhouse put more than their own lives and vehicles in danger when first responders are called.
“There have been times that we’ve been called, and we’ve been up there and it’s not safe for us to even be there,” he said.
The call on whether or not conditions are safe enough for firefighters to respond to the Wreckhouse is made by the officer in charge, usually Fire Chief Jerry Musseau. Assessing the risk is tricky — reports from trusted sources such as the Weather Network or Environment Canada can vary significantly.
“What forecast do you go by?” asked Strickland. “We have no weather station in the fire hall that says winds right now in Port aux Basques are blowing at 130 (km/h).”
An official protocol is needed, says area Coun. Jim Lane.
“Obviously if a truck driver comes through at 160 (km/h winds), he’s making a dangerous situation,” Lane said. “We should not be obligated to see that one of our people gets injured trying to save him.”
Despite severe conditions, Strickland says he can’t recall a single instance during his 17 years as a volunteer firefighter when the department hasn’t responded to an emergency call at the Wreckhouse. But he pointed out that a protocol that prohibits a response because of the weather could have dire consequences.
“If we get a call for Wreckhouse and we don’t go because of the weather, because of the conditions and whatever, and somebody perishes or whatever, we might have made a difference if we were there,” he said.
“The other side of the coin is if you do go and two of your firefighters get killed,” countered Lane. “You know that firemen, the very first thing they teach you, is save yourself so that you can save others.”
“Firefighters are a different breed,” offered Strickland. “We don’t usually question if we’re going. It’s usually when are we going and how are we getting there.”
Better communication is needed among emergency responders and private contractors.
The fire department recently responded to a report of a tractortrailer flipped in the Wreckhouse area. The call came in at 12:30 a.m. Uncertain as to whether or not the driver was trapped or in need of assistance, the firefighters suited up and went out into the storm only to discover the accident had happened hours earlier and that no one, including the driver, was on scene anymore.
“If there was tape placed on this earlier by the towing company that attended to this truck we most likely would have not got the call,” said Strickland.
Before leaving, the department placed caution tape around the tractor trailer so that passersby would know the site had been secured and would not feel compelled to call emergency services.
Then there are liability issues to consider should the department choose not to respond to a Wreckhouse emergency.
“If the decision is made to not respond, I would think this will be no easy decision and the decision would be made with everyone’s best interest in mind. It’s hard for anyone to respond to a call if we are putting the lives of ourselves or other firefighters under our command in jeopardy,” Strickland said. “We have to keep in mind that we, the fire department, may risk a lot to save a lot but we risk little to save little, and at the end of the day we want to make sure that all of our firefighters go home after the call.”