Wellington county appears ready to proceed with the hiring of a full-time fire training officer to work with the seven lower tier fire departments.
Community Emergency Management Coordinator Linda Dickson and county fire coordinator Brad Patton are now visiting various councils in order to get their endorsement of the new position.
“Rural, small town municipalities have a funding problem,” Patton told Mapleton council last week.
Also the Fire Chief in Centre Wellington, Patton explained rural fire departments have to meet the same guidelines as those in large cities, but without the large tax base, which means departments in Wellington County are struggling to meet the training requirements.
The average training officer in Ontario makes an annual salary between $80,000 and $107,000 – so rather than each of the seven departments hiring their own, it makes more sense to pool resources and hire one individual, he added.
The biggest impetus for proceeding with the hiring is the health and safety of fire fighters, Patton said, noting the province and the Office of the Fire Marshal have a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to training issues.
Under the proposal, the county will cover costs associated with the position, including salary, benefits, vehicle purchase, and maintenance and administrative and operational expenses.
The Centre Wellington department will provide office space for the new officer, who will work under the direction of Patton, though services will be provided locally for each of the departments, with the help of their own volunteer training officers.
“This project is just to help them get the tools they require,” Patton said of local departments.
He and Dickson noted the idea of a coordinated training approach was first mentioned in the 1997 Wellington County Restructuring Study by Doug Armstrong and Harry Kitchen.
“It’s not brand new; we’re just trying to move forward now,” Dickson said, adding local fire chiefs have also been talking about the move for some time.
Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson, for one, has offered his support of the idea.
“We can share a lot of resources,” he said. He also noted the move would help with time management at every department and also improve safety. Richardson also stressed the importance of every department receiving the same training.
Patton said hiring a new officer will also save money for individual departments and, more importantly, help reduce liabilities, improve retention of volunteer fire fighters and increase the level of service to the public.
Mapleton Mayor Bruce Whale called the idea a “reasonable approach” and thanked Dickson and Patton for their presentation.
“I think it’s a very good approach … to ensure all our volunteers are up to speed,” said Whale.
Mapleton council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the hiring of a county training officer and the formation of a committee of fire chiefs to develop a job description, determine a hiring committee, and assist in performance reviews.
Warden Chris White said he is not sure exactly where the proposal sits at the moment, from a county level, but he seemed in favour of the idea.
“If all the fire chiefs are in favour of it and it improves training for firefighters, it’s probably a good idea,” White said.
Dickson told the Wellington Advertiser the goal is to hire the fire training officer this year – she hopes by the summer.
