The BC Emergency Health Services Ambulance Station #153 on Gabriola Island. Sounder File Photo.
Sounder News
The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department is seeking formal agreement with BC Emergency Health Services (BC EHS) to host BC EHS staff at Fire Hall #1 when there is no power at the Gabriola Ambulance Station.
Fire Chief Will Sprogis brought the issue to the November 5 meeting of the Fire Board, saying that the Ambulance Station has no generator.
Last year was the first storm season where BC EHS had an ‘Alpha’ crew staying at the station overnight.
Prior to that, crews were responding by pager during the night, and did not need to stay at the station during outages.
Sprogis explained that last winter, the decision was made on the fly to invite BC EHS staff across Church Street into the Fire Hall, which is equipped with a generator.
The Fire District charged BC EHS $1,000 per 24-hour period for the hosting.
This wasn’t intended to be a long-term solution, as Sprogis said the initiative was on BC EHS to buy their own generator in the future.
He said that has not yet happened, and wanted a more formal agreement in place for this coming storm season.
Trustee Wayne Mercier made the motion that the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department work with BC EHS to formalize the emergency hosting agreement and present an agreement to the board.
“It remains casual for now. Work with them before next meeting and bring a formal agreement to the board for approval.”
Media staff with BC EHS provided a statement to the Sounder saying, “we recognize the crucial importance of ensuring that our crews are able to continue working and responding to emergencies during power outages.
“The ambulance station on Gabriola Island does not currently have a generator. We do have an agreement in place for BCEHS paramedics to work out of the Gabriola Fire Hall in the event of extended power outages.
“As part of this agreement, we compensate the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department $1,000 per 24-hour period for use of their station.
“Many ambulance stations throughout the province do have generators and securing generators for the remaining stations that need them is a priority for us.
“We know that there is a particularly high need for a generator at Station 153 on Gabriola, given the frequency of power outages in the area.
“We are working on a plan to install a generator and ensure its long-term maintenance.
“In the meantime, paramedics will continue to use the Gabriola Fire Hall in the event of any power outages so that emergency services are not interrupted in the community.”
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