THREAD: Some additional context to consider in light of the proposed cuts to Halifax Fire, which will be voted upon by council on Tuesday or Wednesday.

In 2015, a report called the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) was presented to council as a part of an overall review of Halifax's fire service. FUS is a national organization that helps insurance companies establish fire protection rates for a given municipality.

FUS is an independent organization, and their only goal is to properly assess risk, based on the risk factors in the community and the fire department's ability to respond, compared to widely-accepted standards (such as NFPA).

This is important in my view, because the FUS concluded exactly what the Chief and Firefighters of HRFE have been telling council: HRFE runs a very cost effective model, that in many ways is running lean compared to a properly funded department.

What did the report say? In addition to maintaining all current staffing, the FUS recommended the following:
- 4 additional personnel at STN2
- 4 additional personnel at STN15
- 8 new personnel at a new STN47

- Also mentions considering 24/7 staffing for STNs 21 and 41
- An E platoon crew at STN26

This is in addition to some other recommendations already implemented, such as an E platoon crew at STN28 and 24/7 staffing at STN45.

The overall point being that five years ago, an independent body was recommending a minimum of 16 additional personnel per 24/7 shift, as well as at least one additional E platoon crew.

I think this supports the notion that cuts to HRFE are a dangerous game. Nobody would deny that HRM is in a difficult position right now financially, but I think that the research and data suggest that fire department funding should be one of the last areas to cut.

Two final points: first, it is also true that report recommended closing and/or relocating certain stations, but in all cases the recommendation was for staffing to remain the same, or increase.

Second: the whole basis of the report is to properly set insurance rates. The FUS is clear in saying that when you improve your fire service standards, insurance rates go down. Fire services get cut, insurance rates can go up.

Hope this provides some additional food for thought. Link to the full report is below, incase anybody is as crazy as I am and wants to spend time reading the whole thing.

End of thread.

http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/150310cow3fire.pdf