Review-Mirror

The Rideau Lakes Fire Chief got the support of council last week for a bylaw amendment which will address changes in the organizational structure of the fire department. Chief Jay DeBernardi was accompanied at Mon- day's committee meeting by Station 1 (Delta) Area Chief Brian Abrams, Sta- tion 2 Area Chief Robert Wilson and Station 4 Area Chief Marc Pothier. The new structure would replace area chiefs with two deputy chiefs and two assistant deputy chiefs. Individual stations would continue to have Captains and Lieutenants in their day to day opera- tion. The changes won't result in more costs nor will the new positions be full-time jobs. DeBernardi stressed that it wasn't changing the overall context of the fire department. "It's also giving us an organization that has a cer- tain degree of flow so that we can offer opportunities to younger members of our fire service who want to grow and develop into assistant or deputy chiefs," said DeBernardi. The chart divided responsibilities of opera- tional readiness, training, technical rescue and appa- ratus from the areas of fire prevention, firefighter wellness, administration and communications. DeBernardi said the opportunities the new structure would bring would develop skills to contribute to the depart- ment in a meaningful way. "You are getting the engagement of firefight- ers. It doesn't take away from the everyday job which is fighting fires but if you want to maintain a vibrant volunteer fire department you need to give people places to go and things to learn to keep it interesting," he said. The new chart reflects a deputy chief and an assis- tant deputy chief having specific responsibilities for pairs of fire stations – one over Delta and Elgin and another for Portland and Westport. "Those individuals are going to be crisscrossing, backing each other up. "The way the fire ser- vice is based it's not think- ing local and silo. It's thinking Rideau Lakes. We're one fire service," he said. •Continued from page 1 gram can continue to do outstanding work in the communities it serves." In an after-hours debate in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Oct. 25, Clark touched on some of the other pro- gram changes announced by OTF. These include a move to a single intake per year for the Seed, Grow and Capital grant streams. The fourth stream, Col- lective Impact, will con- tinue to have a year- round intake. "I am concerned with one intake per year for capital grants because if an organization is turned down, they'll have to wait a full year to apply again," said Clark. "Many of these capital projects are time sensi- tive and have other fundraising involved, so that delay of 12 months could be a significant challenge." Clark said the timing should take into account that OTF's capital fund- ing was suspended this year so it could deliver the government's Ontario 150 program. "The next intake for the capital program isn't until October 25, 2017," said Clark. "That means nearly two years will have passed before those small volunteer organiza- tions that rely on capital funding to maintain their facilities will have access to a grant." Clark also called for the tremendous number of vacancies on OTF's 16 Grant Review Teams to be filled. OTF's agree- ment with the govern- ment requires at least 18 volunteers on each team, but only Toronto has the minimum – the rest aver- age just 9.4. "It's critical that we fill those vacancies immediately to ensure more local voices from our communities are involved in the granting process," said Clark. 2 – november 3, 2016 The Review-Mirror Changes coming to Rideau Lakes Fire and Rescue organization Most local Trillium grant team volunteer positions half filled With community support with their various fundraising efforts, the South Crosby Firefighters Association have purchased an off road patient stretcher. 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