The Cochrane Eagle’s Amy Tucker spoke to Cochrane Fire Services to gauge the issues facing firefighters as we head into 2018.
Cochrane Eagle: What were the achievements/progresses for Cochrane Fire Services in 2017?
Cochrane Fire Services: 707 Prevention Inspections (449 in 2016): an 82 per cent increase through better scheduling and automation of the inspection delivery and records program.
•129 Prevention/Public Education Programs delivered (90 in 2016) a 30 per cent increase through better scheduling and changes in the delivery format.
•Dollar loss structure fires are 3.2 per cent of all incident types and is down from 4.6 per cent in 2016.
•Staff increased capacity in technical rescue techniques and fire rescue techniques through consistent adherence to their internally developed Job Performance Requirement (JPR) program.
•Staff utilized training resources in new techniques and developed their skills through local on-site training, which was made possible by renting portable training equipment from other fire services.
•The addition of the deputy chief of operations has contributed to strengthening operational and safety programs for firefighters.
CE: What were the challenges/obstacles for the department in 2017?
CFS: Fire Services looks forward in 2018 to continuing to increase our capacity to provide efficient, prompt and professional service in all our incident response within Cochrane.
The staff is committed to contributing service excellence through all of our programs to our community and keeping pace with our community as it continues to grow.
The addition of one full-time firefighter on each of the four continuous shifts will allow Fire Administration to lead staff in deploying better response capabilities and an increase in service capacity.
CE: What is on the books for the department in the coming year?
CFS: Fire Administration will continue to strive to encourage prevention programs and strategies that are robust and meet community needs and are beneficial practices in growing communities.
Fire Services will continue to monitor incident types by population and by area in our community and identify means to manage and maintain community response times.
Fire Administration will continue to work with all our community partners and town departments to ensure a well-planned and viable community.
