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Firefighters call on Richmond Hill council for new hires to 'keep them safe'

'Fire protection is not just a cost,' Greg Horton says

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 14, 2020
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill professional firefighters are urging council to increase the budget for the fire department to meet dire staffing needs as the city aims to keep the tax hike low with no new jobs in 2020.

The proposed operating budget would undermine the city’s emergency response capabilities and put the firefighters and the public’s safety at risk, according to a Richmond Hill Professional Fire Fighters Association press release, issued on Jan. 7.

Council decided at a budget meeting in October to keep the municipal portion of property tax increase at or below one per cent in 2020, which would include no additional hires and a five-per-cent increase on user fees.

“Fire protection is not just a cost,” Greg Horton, president of the association was quoted in the release, noting it’s also an investment that saves lives, reduces economic impact, and lowers residential commercial insurance premiums.

Under the directive of no new 2020 hires, the fire department is unable to add the 12 new firefighters that were prescribed in the 2016 master fire plan --a road map designed to guide the development of the city’s fire protection services.

Richmond Hill is currently home to more than 206,000 residents, a 12 per cent growth from 2011, while the emergency response resources have not experienced a significant increase since 2012, the release noted.

“We believe that if there’s one thing taxpayers expect their tax dollars to do, it’s to keep them and their families safe," Horton was quoted.

Richmond Hill has a shortage of firefighters and a lack of resources when compared with other Ontario cities of similar size, as the 2016 plan identified.

Records show the fire department added a total of 15 full-time firefighters between 2016 and 2019.

Last year, Horton told The Liberal that the fire department requested eight new firefighters, which council cut down to four.

In the meantime, the response time of the Richmond Hill fire crews has lagged behind the national standard.

The National Fire Protection Association standard states the first truck should arrive at the scene to 90 per cent of incidents within four minutes.

The 2018 annual report reveals Richmond Hill firefighters only respond to 61 per cent of the incidents within four minutes.

The fire department received 5,774 calls in 2018, an 11 per cent increase from 2016, the report says.

“If we’re not following the road map, we’re essentially putting firefighters’ health and safety in jeopardy,” Horton said on the phone, which would have a direct impact on public safety.

Horton spoke to council about his concerns at a budget meeting on Nov. 26, only to be interrupted abruptly, without a chance to finish his presentation.

In the middle of Horton’s delegation, Regional Councillor Carmine Perrelli raised a point of order to take the matter into a closed session while Horton was saying “I don’t believe it’s anyone’s intention here to put people’s life at risk in the community ,”

“May I ask why?” Horton said when he was told to leave the podium right after the closed session.

“I just decided as chair that’s the end of your delegation,” Regional Councillor Joe DiPaola said.

Horton said he did not receive any clarification on the proposed budget from council, and Fire Chief Steve Kraft provided his understanding of what it all means to the fire department.

The requirement of a one-per-cent cap on tax increases and no new staff positions “applies to all departments across the city including the fire and emergency services,” Kraft wrote in an email to The Liberal.

Council is expected to make a decision on the 2020 operating budget at a budget committee of whole meeting on Jan. 28.