Regulations crippling volunteer fire service: chief

HAINES JUNCTION - Jim Regimbal, president of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs, fears volunteer firefighting organizations have been brought to a “tipping point” in their ability to comply with regulations and still get the job done.

Regimbal cites new regulations brought in by the territory’s occupational health and safety branch.

The Dawson City fire chief addressed the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) at its annual general meeting in Haines Junction last
Sunday morning.

He spoke while the AYC was discussing the issue in relation to a motion that it had passed at its 2007 AGM.

At that time, the AYC had resolved to “request the Government of Yukon (to) investigate the impacts, financial and other, that these new changes will have on member communities and what options may be available to mitigate the challenges created.“

Regimbal indicated that little had been done to address these issues since that time and that the frustration levels within his membership are growing critical.

“With our volunteer fire chiefs, they’ve reached a point where many are thinking about stepping down.“

The government has enacted regulations which have made much of the equipment in use in the territory substandard, Regimbal said.

There has been no money forthcoming to assist local fire departments with upgrading.

In addition, the paperwork load has been drastically increased and chiefs resent this, he added.

“We’ve been trying to spearhead some negotiations or discussions with the government - but to no avail. It’s been a bit of a frustrating, uphill battle.“

The chiefs’ association is not opposed to the health and safety regulations, but would like to know just what programs will be enacted which will enable members to achieve compliance.

So far, Regimbal notes, only “spot or regular safety inspections” seem to have been put in place. These have been most unhelpful, he added, as they seem to be focused on finding problems rather than providing assistance.

“Current visits by (occupational health and safety) inspectors do not demonstrate objectivity by having a preconceived attitude that a fire department is non-compliant prior to evaluating their safety programs, operating guidelines, equipment, etc.“

Regimbal expanded on his concerns before the AYC.

“As an association, we know we have to be regulated like any industry, We’re all for that.

“But there has to be a work plan so that we can become compliant. As major stakeholders in (health and safety) matters, we haven’t had discussions with them, so we can reach this stage.“

Regimbal gave a couple of examples of expenses that would have to be borne by municipalities - $12,000 for alterations to a fire truck, for instance.

That made the matter a joint concern for the AYC and the chiefs’ association, since the funding for equipment upgrades would currently come from municipal budgets.

From his experiences with an inspector, Regimbal assumes the driving force behind occupational health and safety inspection drive is the situation which occurred in Yellowknife in March 2005, when two Northwest Territories city firefighters were killed.

A roof collapsed under them while they were attempting to save a burning building.

In that case, the N.W.T. workers’ compensation board laid charges against the City of Yellowknife and its fire department managers, alleging that they failed to take proper steps to protect the firefighters’ safety.

“I know we can agree that safety is a critical,“ Regimbal wrote in his letter, “but regulatory application needs to be balanced with the stakeholder’s ability to comply or the fire service itself will collapse due to its inability or desire to serve the citizens in our communities.“

At the AYC meeting Regimbal drew parallels between the current mood in the firefighters’ association and the crisis that shut down Emergency Medical Service volunteer ambulance organizations in some Yukon towns and villages in the summer and fall of 2007.

“The bottom line here has to be the safety of the communities and the safety to visitors to the communities,“ he said. He urged the AYC to encourage the government to open up the process and communicate with the firefighters.

“It’s a huge concern. We’re losing people. With the new ambulance policy, we’re also losing some fire chiefs to the ambulance crews because that consistency isn’t there with the stipends and with things of that nature.

We have to work together and be consistent across the board so we can make Yukon the place it should be.“

The AYC members discussed the issue after Regimbal’s presentation and expressed considerable dissatisfaction that their 2007 request had not been acted on in a satisfactory way by the government.

A motion was passed indicating support for the chiefs’ association’s position and urging the government to act quickly to deal with the situation.

The motion served notice that the AYC intends to discuss the matter with two ministers.