Firefighters want dispatch service saved
Local service seen as vitally important say departments
Firefighters from numerous departments in the tri-counties gathered at a meeting last week not just to talk about how important local fire dispatch service is to them, but to talk about how vital this service is.
The May 9 meeting was called after the Town of Yarmouth indicated, during contract negotiations with the union local of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), that it will be laying off the four dispatchers as it explores the cost of using outside dispatch services.
No one at the meeting wants to see the town go this route and they talked about what steps should be taken to save it.
Lake Vaughan Fire Chief George Emin suggested that the fire departments – there are two dozen that rely on the dispatch service from Weymouth around to Shelburne – approach the Town of Yarmouth to see what it will take to keep the local dispatchers and follow this up by having fire departments approach their own municipal units.
Approaching local municipal units was discussed many times during the meeting, as was the possibility of increasing the monthly amount that the departments pay towards the dispatch service, which currently sits at $100 a month. The departments expressed that they would be willing to see this amount increase, although it was also noted there are some departments that are cash strapped.
The Town of Yarmouth has said its taxpayers pay a disproportionate amount for the dispatch services – which is why it wants to explore less expensive dispatch options. It says no final decision has been made.
After department contributions totalling around $28,800 from the various departments, and funding from the Municipality of Yarmouth of around $69,000, the town says it is paying $161,000 annually for the service that spills into three counties.
It was noted by the departments at the meeting that the town has never asked for an increase in their contributions. “If you don’t ask, you don’t receive,” noted one firefighter. Many questioned why the town wouldn’t explore changes to the existing funding arrangement before looking to outsource the service.
Jason Saulnier, a firefighter with the Eel Brook Fire Department and vice-president of the Yarmouth County Mutual Aid Association, said he hasn’t heard anyone say they wouldn’t be willing to pay more if that’s what needed. He also said it’s important that the municipal units stand together with their departments.
The dispatchers, who are town employees, are each paid $40,258. The town has said salaries, benefits and overtime brings the overall annual cost to $260,000 a year.
Yarmouth paid firefighter Lynn Seeley, president of the IAFF Yarmouth Firefighters Association local 2094, said the union local has taken the position that the town has not considered life safety for firefighters or the public – “that is a priority for us,” he said – and he said the town has not considered all of the economic implications. The union local has asked the town to rescind dispatcher layoff notifications contained in an April 30 letter.
Seeley spent several minutes reading out the responsibilities and duties of the dispatchers as outlined in the town’s job description for these positions. As he was reading he stressed the line that said dispatchers have to be “familiar with the geographical area and landmarks of the tri-counties.”
CONCERNS OF OUTSOURCING
Such local knowledge was highlighted throughout the meeting by firefighters who worry an outside dispatch service won’t be familiar the local geography. Many questions were asked at the meeting. How will someone from outside the area know which is the next closest fire department to dispatch to a scene, they question? How will they be able to provide information about hydrants and ponds for water sources? How will they know where the closest excavator is if one is required on a fire scene to knock down a structure to make it safer to fight a fire? Will there be continuous monitoring of a fire scene by a dispatch call centre elsewhere like there is now?
The town has stated that an outside dispatch service will offer the same level of service – an important factor for it, the town says – and it says this type of service is the model throughout much of the province. But those at the meeting were skeptical that the same quality level of service will be the case.
Art Rose is the chief of the Port Maitland Fire Department and is also a director with Yarmouth County Mutual Aid Association and the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia. He has been a firefighter for around 45 years and said a lot of these outside services are call centres, not the type of dispatch centre that firefighters here are accustomed to.
“In the three counties here are we spoiled? Yes. But we’re spoiled in the right possible way for life perseverance and for saving of property and for our own lives. When we talk to dispatch, they’re like a command centre,” Rose said, saying he recognizes their voices and they recognize his. He said it’s a brotherhood. “It scares me to death if we’re going to a third-party call centre because we’re not going to get that level of service.”
MORE THAN JUST ANSWERING CALLS
It was also noted this is about much more than someone who just answers a phone call when a fire is happening.
“If anybody thinks that’s just a piece of cake job answering the phone, I have news for you – that’s just as stressful as going to the fire scene, if not more,” said Lynn Seeley.
Another thing discussed was the trust between firefighters and dispatchers, something that builds up over a number of years and takes into account experience with local departments.
Dispatcher Peter Poirier spoke. He told the firefighters that just by the tone of their voice he knows when things are taking a turn for the worst at a fire scene. He said in situations where seconds, not minutes, matter most when reacting to what is happening at a fire scene, it’s important that things happen quickly and this comes with local knowledge and experience.
He feels the town is looking at the cost of the service from the wrong perspective.
“So it costs $260,000,” he said to the firefighters. “What value do any of you place on your life, your family, your kids, anyone else? That’s what it boils down to. What do you value somebody’s life for?”
George Emin also provided other monetary figures. He spoke of the costs of mutual aid fire service when other departments provide support and manpower at a fire scene. He raised this as an issue since the town has said it is not getting enough money from the rural departments towards the dispatch service. He said over the past two years his department had provided mutual aid to around 10 fire scenes for the Yarmouth Fire Department, with each call being an average of three to four hours.
Quoting rates that Natural Resources pays fire departments for their services at fire scenes, he says if the Yarmouth Fire Department and the town was billed for mutual aid calls from departments at fire scenes it would amount in the thousands of dollars per fire. But no bill is submitted.
There were members of the Yarmouth and Argyle municipal councils at the meeting who indicated the dispatch issue will be a topic discussed more thoroughly at their council tables. Yarmouth Warden Leland Anthony said the sides all have to work together to find a solution.
Argyle Councillor Glenn Diggdon said he felt the wrong question is being asked by the town. He said the question shouldn’t be what is the cost of keeping the dispatch service, but rather what is the cost of losing it?
At the conclusion of the meeting, as the dispatchers sat in the front row, Jason Saulnier asked everyone from the second row on to stand up. As they did he told the dispatchers, “We all stand behind you.”