Skip to content

Fire department reports success in finding more volunteers

Report says 11 have been hired, 30 more offered spots
Firetrucks_night_winterSized
Greater Sudbury is making progress in hiring more volunteer firefighters, with 11 volunteer probationary firefighters having been hired at seven stations as of March, while another 30 have been offered probationary spots at another 14 stations. (File)

Greater Sudbury is making progress in hiring more volunteer firefighters, says a report headed to the community services committee next week.

The report says 11 volunteer probationary firefighters have been hired at seven stations as of March, while another 30 have been offered probationary spots at another 14 stations.

Volunteer recruitment became an issue last spring when the service held a series of public meetings on the state of emergency services in the city. A proposal to reduce reliance on volunteers by hiring more full-time firefighters (a plan rejected by city council) led to accusations that officials weren't serious about volunteer recruitment.

However, Fire Chief Trevor Bain said at the time that difficulties recruiting were largely at sparsely populated stations in outlying communities. Because of tougher provincial requirements, it was tougher to find qualified recruits in those areas, Bain said.

The report also provides data on how many emergencies firefighters have responded to between Jan. 1 and June 30. They include: 141 fires; 520 alarm calls; 335 road accidents; 109 open air burning complaints; 351 medical assistance calls; and, another 645 calls for various incidents.

There were a total of 141 fires in that period, causing an estimated combined damage of almost $5.6 million. Some of the larger fires include one in June on MR84 in Capreol that caused $750,000 in damage, while in April, a fire on South Lane Road caused $600,000 in damage.

Sudbury's paramedics have also been very busy, responding to 8,468 urgent emergency calls in the same time frame, in addition to thousands of other non-urgent calls.

Since 2015, paramedics have been taking part in a pilot program in which they make home visits to people whose health conditions mean they may have to frequently call EMS. The goal is to safely reduce the number of emergency calls.

The Care Transitions Community Paramedic program has had a total of 377 patients since its inception.  

These paramedics will be working with the Health Sciences North Outpatient Chronic Disease Clinics, North East Specialized Geriatric Centre and NE-LHIN Home and Community Services to co-ordinate, improve and realign care for older adults in the community. 

“They have proven, through their interventional care in the home, they can positively affect the patient's well-being and decrease Emergency Department visits, admissions and length of stay,” the report says. 

“Working together on a larger scale with more central planning and co-ordination, is expected to demonstrate efficiencies in the system that may affect low acuity ambulance call volume and ambulance off load delays in the emergency department. 

“The 'test of concept' of this new plan is set to commence on Sept. 5 with reviews scheduled for Oct. 6, Nov. 3 and Dec. 1.” 


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Darren MacDonald

About the Author: Darren MacDonald

Read more