THUNDER BAY – Public feedback is being sought to help develop a plan that will guide the city's fire department for the next decade.
The city earlier this week launched an online survey, seeking input from the community as a review of the Thunder Bay Fire Rescue is undertaken for its next strategic master plan.
Mark Smith, the city’s general manager of development and emergency services, said the survey is meant to get the public’s perceptions of the fire department.
“We’re interested in knowing what people think about response time, what people think about the various things Thunder Bay Fire Rescue does because it does a heck of a lot more than just simply to put out fires. It will be interesting to see the degree awareness that there is out in the community about what Thunder Bay Fire Rescue does,” Smith said on Thursday.
“We’re also interested in knowing people’s views on the cost of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue. Part of this exercise is to look for opportunities for cost containment and savings, if that’s something we can achieve.”
Thunder Bay city council in April approved hiring an external consultant – Barrie, Ont.-based Emergency Management and Training Inc. – at a cost of $89,000 to conduct the review of the fire service.
The city’s request for proposal identified cost containment as a key objective, prompting criticism from the Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association. Officials with the union blasted the process, claiming it was a mandate for job losses and cuts to the department.
Association president Dennis Brescacin said he believed some of the survey's questions are skewed.
"One of them (asks) if you are concerned about the cost of the service," Brescacin told CKPR Radio. "You could take that both ways. You could take it that you could be willing whatever it costs to have the level of service we have now, or you could take it that people could be concerned about the cost of the actual service."
The department, which has an annual operating budget of about $30 million, with eight fire stations and more than 211 employees. Of its operating budget, 95 per cent of that amount accounting for wages and benefits.
The fire service is estimated to respond to 9,000 incidents per year, which also include medical calls that they respond to under the city’s tiered response model.
Smith said an amalgamation of the fire department and Superior North EMS to create a fire-medic system is not under consideration, explaining that it’s not something the city feels is a realistic model.
The survey requires participants to register and create an account, providing an email address and postal code. That account can be used for any future city public engagement exercises.
“To a degree, it’s to ensure people are only providing their input once and the same person isn’t repeating over and over again,” Smith said.
A public open house, which will include Smith, fire chief John Hay and representatives from Emergency Management and Training, will be held on June 18 at the Italian Cultural Centre beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The online survey is open until June 30.
