Fire Department Report for council provides a Snapshot of January for Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue

The Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Department provided 
a snapshot of their first month of service for 2023 at Tuesday's Council Session

A report provided to Prince Rupert City Council on Tuesday night offered a glimpse into how the month of January moved along for members of the Prince Rupert Fire Rescue Department.

The report observes of a response to 70 emergency incidents of all types in January, three of which were structure fires, with a total property loss of 41,000 dollars on the three properties valued at $2,462,200 in total

Also among the notes of the review notes as to how the first month of 2022 fared compared to the four years previous, with the first thirty one days of 2023 making for the second busiest January in the last five years.

Other areas of focus included the Department's work on Fire inspections, Fire Prevention, Training and Upgrading as well as notes on the status of the PRFD's fire apparatus.

click to enlarge 

As the report was included in the City's Consent Agenda process, there was no actual in person presentation of the findings, the report one received for informational purposes and filing.

So in this instance there was no opportunity for follow up on some of the items of interest. 

One item that perhaps could use a bit more information is the 911 Dispatch summary and how much time the dispatchers are being used on areas not related to Emergency response calls.

The document however even as it is, makes for a very useful one for the public to have access to, as it provides some background into the day to day duties of the Fire Department, it's a model that the City should request of the RCMP Detachment as well.

Something which would provide the public with an opportunity to better understand the value of the calls for service and the nature of the situations that the front line officers at the Prince Rupert detachment face in their day to day work.

In previous sessions the Council members have often suggested having both the Fire Chief and RCMP Detachment Commander attend a public session for an opportunity to provide some detailed background to their respective departments.

So far there hans't been much progress on those plans, but is an initiative that they should continue to advocate for.  

Considering the importance of both services and the impact on the civic budget, having as much background on their work would serve Council well as it explains its budget choices to the public.

More notes on Tuesday's Council Session can be explored here.

A look at the work of the City's Emergency Responders is available here.