Parksville city councillor Sean Wood would like to see the fire department compensated for the increasing number of medical incidents it is called to attend.
Wood’s resolution calls for the establishment of a remuneration system for B.C. fire rescue service departments providing medical care in conjunction with the BC EHS system, with considerations for the cost of personnel, training, and replacement of consumed supplies.
“The province isn’t really supporting, financially, fire departments across the entire province who are picking up the slack for what BC EHS can’t catch up with,” Wood said during council’s Jan. 15 meeting.
Medical-related calls accounted for more than a quarter of Parksville Fire Rescue’s total call volume, according to City of Parksville data.
His motion cites basic life support supplies such as oxygen masks and personal protective equipment needed to respond to the increasing demand related to a rise in homelessness, weather emergencies and demographic factors like the high proportion of seniors living in Parksville.
READ MORE: Parksville Fire reports call increase in first quarter
Endorsed unanimously by city council, the resolution will be forwarded to the Regional District of Nanaimo board for approval and submission to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) for consideration at the 2024 AVICC convention.
If endorsed at the AVICC convention, the resolution would move on to the Union of BC Municipalities meeting in September.
“With any luck, the province understands that we need a better system to pay for fire departments picking up the slack for their responsibilities, is what it comes down to,” Wood said. “All of these things come back to municipalities, come back to us increasing property taxes so we can fund our fire departments to do these things. And so we just want to give the province just another idea if they’re looking for ideas on how to help municipalities.”
Wood added the idea came up during at conversation at the RDN fire services committee meeting.