If the small volunteer fire department in Britannia Beach gets its wish, the department is going to get first responder status.
The Britannia fire chief, Steve Virgint, is working to have protocols in place so that if there is a vehicle accident on Highway 99, a cardiac arrest case or a 911 comes in to report someone is choking – then the Britannia Fire Department is alerted. Members of the small community fire department are currently in training to learn how to deal with each of these emergency scenarios.
“We’re working with the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) so we can respond to those calls,” said Virgint.
SLRD chair Patricia Heintzman confirmed the SLRD supports the efforts by the Britannia department.
She noted that a few administrative issues have to be worked out before the volunteers can start working as first responders.
“It is technically a provincial responsibility,” said Heintzman.
She also pointed out there are real costs attached to increasing the number of callouts handled by the Britannia department and funding issues will have to be worked out. A small stipend is given to each department member when they respond to an incident or show up to a practice.
“We want to support them within the budget we have,” said Heintzman.
The department doesn’t have to rely solely on the regional district for funding. According to Heintzman, the department has done some fundraising in the past and there could be private donors interested in contributing to the safety of the community by helping to fund the department, which also serves Furry Creek.
She also wants to ensure the keen community members are properly insured and their training is appropriate.
For Virgint, who is a former deputy fire chief with Squamish Fire Rescue, he and the other members of the fire department in Britannia just want to make their community a safer place to live.
“We’d be able to help out until the ambulance arrives,” he said of future medical emergencies in Britannia.
Ambulance response times have been under fire recently. Members of the Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) are calling on the provincial government to create a patient-centred emergency response system that includes fire and ambulance services. The 33 local government bodies making up the LMLGA feel ambulance response times are too slow.
The Squamish Council members recently passed a motion calling on the UBCM to work with the provincial government to develop a funding mechanism that will compensate local governments for the added cost of providing pre-hospital medical assistance through the first responder program when ambulances are delayed.
Heintzman said a number of resolutions regarding ambulance response times are being drafted for the next Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention.
