Room to grow on the south side

By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress - May 15, 2008

NewS.39.20080515175129.engine4getsreplaced.2_0515_20080516.jpg

Chilliwack firefighters perform a routine inspection of Engine 1 at Hall 1 Thursday morning. A four-person engine similar to this one is on order for Hall 4 on the south side as part of next year’s expansion plans. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS

The Chilliwack Fire Department has big plans for 2009.

Expansion of the fire department is on deck, with four new hires being added to the roster of 20 career firefighters.

That magical number of 24 full-timers will make it possible to split the force into platoons of six, said Fire Chief Richard Ryall.

“That will allow us to offer round-the-clock coverage to both the north and south sides of the city for the first time.

“We don’t have that now,” he explained to The Progress. “We have 24-hour coverage out of Hall 1, but on the south side it’s only Monday to Friday during the day.”

The city has been progressively moving toward having full-time crews on duty for some time, said Mayor Clint Hames.

“The changes are really important for Chilliwack,” he offered. “We’ve been adding a certain number of personnel each year for a while now,” Hames said. “This will provide that extra level of safety and security.”

Response times for the fire department “are within normal range,” he underlined. “But as we develop in the hillsides, it gives us a little more comfort that we’ll get there in time.”

Chilliwack is a community with a “composite” fire department, comprising both career firefighters (20 now and 24 next year) as well as 130 paid-on-call (POC) firefighters.

“We’re very lucky to maintain a composite force, and it allows us considerable savings as a municipality,” Hames said.

The composite is a similar model to that found in Abbotsford or Surrey, but Vancouver and Burnaby for example, are career-only.

“To some extent it’s a reflection of what a community can afford,” Ryall said. “It’s all driven by call volume and population densities.”

The fire calls are going up every year with a population in excess of 80,000 people.

The south-side fire truck, Engine 4, carries a crew of two, and that engine is due to be replaced in 2009 with a four-person truck, to go along with hiring four new firefighters, said Chief Ryall.

In order to house those new firefighters, a new 3,000-sq.ft. addition will be built onto Hall 4 in Sardis.

However the goal is not to increase the real estate for truck bays, but rather increasing the space available for the dorms, kitchen, office, training, utilities, storage and more, Ryall added.

The designs have yet to be approved for the addition, so there are details to iron out, but it’s all in the works, he added.

Email | Print | Letter to Editor | Share on Facebook

Room to grow on the south side

Most read in your Region

Most read across BC