City fire department stretched to the limit
Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (May 28/01) - For the city's six firefighters, days off are never certain. Sleep is a luxury.
"Guaranteed you're going to get at least one call, maybe up to four calls, a night. It takes a toll," said firefighter Greg Jewers.
It's an exhausting scenario that emergency services director Neville Wheaton hopes will soon be over.
Council approved $120,000 to hire two new firefighters next month. It's hoped that with the new staff, the crew will not face a situation similar to last summer.
Then, Iqaluit's six firefighters, who double as paramedics worked 14-hour days, up to 17 days straight, to provide 24-hour fire and ambulance coverage. Even now, overnight, people already working full eight-hour shifts are covering on-call shifts.
The problem is a substantial growth in the number and severity of emergency calls, Wheaton said. Not all calls are life threatening.
Six trained firefighters cover round-the-clock emergency service. When people take vacation, Wheaton scrambles to fill positions.
"Last summer I walked around with the schedule in my hand making sure each shift was filled. It was a nightmare," he said.
Compounding matters, Wheaton is down one firefighter since Mathew McLean's departure this month. That left five full-time staff covering patient transfers, fires, stab wounds, hangings, overdoses and assaults. A 30-person volunteer firefighter brigade assists with major fires.
The city lockout has had little impact on service delivery, he said.
However, station captain Cory Chegwyn was one of the 85 workers told not to come to work on April 17. Under a special agreement with the union, Chegwyn is paged for fire calls.
Firefighter Jeremy Hamburg sees the impact staffing shortages take on co-workers.
"Is it a danger? No. Is it a drain on the staff? Absolutely," he said.
Long hours mean big paycheques, but the lure of money soon wears off.
"The attraction of overtime pay (in this field) wears thin after three days," Wheaton said.
Hiring two new members and replacing McLean's departure will mean 24-hour in-station staffing for the first time in Iqaluit. Right now, any calls that come in between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. are answered by paging on-duty crews..
"Twenty-four hour coverage is not new. Having a person at the station from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. is," Wheaton said.
On-site, 24-hour staffing will reduce overtime pay and lessen the chances of staff working double shifts.
Last year, dispatchers handled some 1,500 calls.
A dozen were serious fires, the rest were medical calls ranging from patient transfers and breathing difficulties to broken ribs, seizures and suicides.
Twenty-eight applications were under review last week. The new recruits are scheduled to start in June, logistics willing.
Jewers looks forward to their arrival.
"It's only going to get busier," he said.
