Windsor Firefighters Respond to article in todays Windsor Star: Windsor Highest in Fire Loss, Injury and Fatalities in Ontario But city plan to cut frontline fire department capabilities still looms WINDSOR – A detailed report confirming that Windsor had the highest rate of fire loss, fire injury and fire fatalities of any major city in Ontario last year is even more evidence that the city’s plan to slash frontline fire protection and other lifesaving resources in the new year is a bad idea that needs to be deferred, say Windsor fire fighters. The startling figures, released recently in an independent report by the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI), also shows the city’s 90th percentile for fire department response times for fires and medical emergencies such as heart attacks has grown by almost half a minute since 2011, while most other cities’ response times have remained the same or even decreased. “The findings in the OMBI report illustrate in black and white that this is absolutely the wrong time for Windsor to be cutting fire department resources,” says Angelo Gertsakis, President of the Windsor Professional Fire Fighters Association. “If there was any more proof needed that the proposed fire department cuts are wrong for Windsor, this is it. In the name of public safety, we call on the city to at the very least hold off on these cuts until they’ve addressed the problems outlined in the OMBI report and they can assure residents and business owners they’re getting the fire protection and emergency medical response they deserve.” The city is planning to close two firehalls at the beginning of next year and replacing them with just one, while reducing the number of fire fighters on duty every day from 53 to 50. The city is also planning to take a fire engine out of service and to get rid of a fire prevention officer and a public education officer. Fire fighters say the cuts will increase emergency response times and reduce the capabilities of crews, all to save the average household $2 per month. Windsor Fire Chief Bruce Montone stated publicly yesterday that fire prevention and education were the answer to fire protection problems in the city, despite the fact that cuts to fire prevention and public education are imminent. He blamed the city’s poor performance in the report on citizens ignoring smoke alarms and re-entering burning buildings. Gerstakis agreed fire prevention and education are important, but said improvements in those areas aren’t going to happen overnight, especially with the cuts that are scheduled to take place in the new year. In the meantime, fires are going to keep happening, which makes frontline response capabilities even more important. “Education is important but blaming citizens is not the answer,” Gerstakis said, adding the chief’s explanation doesn’t explain why fire loss was also the highest in Windsor. In response to the city’s proposed cuts, Windsor fire fighters earlier this year drafted their own plan to improve fire and medical response times and public safety by maintaining frontline resources, at a cost of just $2 a month for the average household. The city ignored the plan. “The OMBI report is a wake-up call. It’s a clear sign there’s a problem, and it would be unconscionable for the city to go ahead with cuts to fire protection, fire prevention and public education when they know there’s a problem,” Gertsakis said. “We’re willing to sit down with the city anytime to discuss our plan and to show them again how public safety can be improved in Windsor instead of further eroded. If there’s one thing people expect their tax dollars to do it’s to protect them. We just don’t want to see the city going in the opposite direction.” Among the OMBI report’s findings: • Windsor had 21.81 residential fire related injuries per 100,000 residents in 2013, a 60 per cent increase over 2012 and more than five times the median of nine cities studied. Toronto had four fire injuries per 100,000 in 2013 • Windsor had .95 fire fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2013, also the highest of nine cities studied and more than double the median number of fire fatalities for those cities. Full report at ombi.ca
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 03:06:21 +0000