Osoyoos Fire Chief Rick Jones. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Every single volunteer firefighter currently donating their time and energy to the Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department has been trained to meet the provincial standards identified in a recent Fire Commissioners New Play Book, said Osoyoos Fire Chief Rick Jones during a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday.
“All of our guys have been trained to meet provincial standards,” said Jones.
The provincial government initiated a program to establish a certification program to establish minimum training standards following the tragic death of a volunteer firefighter in Clearwater, B.C. back in 2006, said Jones.
The Play Book he discussed with town council talks about the different levels of fire protection needed for each community and that each community must decide on its own what level of fire protection they want to provide, he said.
Firefighting in any form can be dangerous and volunteer firefighters must train and practice for a long list of skills that have been designed to keep them from being seriously injured or killed, said Jones.
“The Osoyoos Fire Deparrtment, throughout its history has always trained to meet or exceed provincial standards,” he said. “The Fire Commissioner’s office has always investigated any death or major injury in the fire service and made recommendations on how to prevent it from happening again.”
The Osoyoos fire department currently sets aside roughly $15,000 in its annual budget for training purposes, but that money is taken up quickly once you realize that it costs roughly $300 per day to send one volunteer for a training course in Vernon, said Jones.
The Osoyoos department has already started the process of having its own trainers certified so the department can continue to perform the majority of training programs for firefighters in Osoyoos, he said.
Jones warned council that the Osoyoos department will likely have to start putting aside more money in its annual budget to ensure it can maintain its policy of ensuring every volunteer firefighter is being trained to meet all provincial standards, he said.
“I can only say that it is going to cost more in the future,” he said.
The new fire hall in Osoyoos, which is expected to begin construction in late summer, is going to be equipped with quality training equipment, including a training tower, said Jones.
His plan is to bring in firefighters from other volunteer departments across the South Okanagan to train at this facility and “swap services” with other departments to help control training costs, he said.
The goal in the short term is to get more trainers certified, to keep moving forward with established training programs and to increase the fire department’s budget to cover the costs of providing more training programs, said Jones.
Coun. Carol Youngberg assured Jones that the new town council is very impressed by the work being done by the local fire department and its commitment to having all of its volunteer members properly trained and certified.
“I think you guys are doing a great job,” she said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
