Derek Kilbourn
Sounder News
The Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District Board has sent the proposed budget for 2025 to the Ministry for Municipal Affairs.
The levy proposed for 2025 is $1,406,023. The 2024 levy was $ 1,021,958.
The borrowing bylaw to request that levy through the Ministry was passed at the regular meeting of the Fire Board on October 2. Chair Paul Giffin said the Board will now wait to hear back from Ministry staff on if they are satisfied with the borrowing bylaw and budget – as well as the consultation process conducted by the Board prior to approving the bylaw.
Giffin said, “if they’re satisfied, they will approve the bylaw, and then away we go. If they’re not satisfied with it, we will hear from them.”
New Duty officer response model being trialed
Fire Chief Will Sprogis said the Department was going to trial a new response model for the Duty Officer.
Rather than paging all responders immediately to low acuity calls, the Duty Officer will be paged to first go to a scene and assess whether more firefighters from the on-duty platoon are needed.
This is in particular for calls which are requests for assistance from BC Ambulance. Sprogis said the new model is about resource management – as well as preventing burnout in the members.
Sprogis was clear this is for the low acuity calls – like a twisted ankle.
High acuity calls, such as a cardiac arrest, will still be a page-out for all medical responders to attend the scene.
The new model will also ensure that the firefighters are being used for their primary purpose – that of firefighting.
As Sprogis explained, members in the past could get called out at two or three in the morning, but for a call which did not necessarily warrant so many members on scene.
The new model will keep people rested, available for fire calls or high acuity medical calls.
Sprogis said, “it’s resource allocation. So we could [in the past] get 10 people coming to a rolled ankle on Berry Point, and then we get a cardiac arrest at Silva Bay.”
Having the new model in place means responders are available to go to the cardiac arrest.
This past week, Sprogis said, “we are now a couple of weeks into the trial and it appears to be working well. I believe the membership is also very happy with the trial, as it helps to avoid unnecessary calls from them, such as leaving work or waking up in the middle of the night to arrive on the scene where assistance is not needed.
“The trial also trains the Duty Officer to practice their skills in sizing up an incident and determining what resources are needed. Patient care should never be affected because the Duty Officer will be going directly with no delay, ensuring that the patient receives immediate care.”
Burn Building upgrades
At the Oct. 2 meeting, Sprogis requested the Board allow for $10,000 to be spent on the live fire burn building.
He said the building is used for two things. Maintenance training for the established firefighters; and certification of the new firefighters.
Being able to do this training on island, he said, saves the department the expense of sending firefighters to other training facilities.
“We’d like to expand the deck to support more training. The suggestion we have is that the money not come from the budget, but from the revenue coming in from Safer Ocean Systems (SOS).”
SOS is renting the upper floor of the old Fire Hall #1 and is utilizing the live fire building for their own training scenarios. Sprogis said the $2,000 a month from SOS will pay for the upgrades within five months.
New accounts opened
The District is opening new accounts with TD Bank.
Trustee John Moeller, who chairs the Financial Subcommittee, said in coordination with the new 10-year long range financial plan, “we need to create some new accounts.”
He said the Finance committee is proposing the accounts be created at TD at a higher interest rate. There is already a capital reserve account, but with the new long-range plan, there’s a need for a hall maintenance account; a contingency fund account; and an equipment replacement account. Moeller suggested these be opened in a wealth management portion.
“Along with that, I was going to suggest that we also get a chequing account with TD, because right now it’s all in this sort of wealth management thing that we can’t write checks out of easily.
“So if we get a chequing account, you can move money into the chequing account and send it over to Coastal or pay something with it.”
He said this chequing account would be a business banking account.
The Board voted unanimously to open these accounts.
House fire on Rowan Way
Sprogis provided an update on October 12 house fire on Rowan Way, saying the Gabriola Fire Department responded to a residential structure fire near Degnen Bay at 3:20 AM.
According to Sprogis, the Engine from Hall #2 and the Chief arrived first to find a fully involved fire.
He said, “the volunteer firefighters quickly protected nearby exposures, successfully saving an RV and an outbuilding. Thankfully, the occupants escaped unharmed.”
An ambulance with BC emergency Health Services (BC EHS) arrived to assist, providing rehabilitation support for the firefighters.
Sprogis added, “this incident coincided with Fire Safety Week, emphasizing the importance of smoke detectors, which played a crucial role in alerting the homeowner to evacuate safely.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Residents are reminded to test their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly.
Sprogis said, “a big thank you to British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Emergency Support Services, and the dedicated members of the Gabriola Fire Department for their commitment and service.”
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