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Why is the issue of rural fringe fire protection important to residents of Williams Lake? The City receives funds for the provision of fire protection services to rural residents on the fringe areas of the City, and is currently negotiating with the Cariboo Regional District on an agreement that amalgamates three previous agreements: two with the CRD, and one with the province. The City and CRD agree that the logical action to take is to amalgamate all three agreements. Should an agreement be reached using the same funding formulae as was used in the previous agreements, the City will receive the same level of funds. Should the agreement be based on net residential assessments, as the CRD has proposed (and as contained in their November referendum question), the City will receive approximately $170,000 less from rural residents, and City residents will pay more. Should the CRD opt not to receive fire protection services, the City stands to lose fire protection revenue, and the revenue loss would have to be addressed in the Citys budget. In 2012, the City collected approximately $727,000 for fire protection services from rural residents. What is the basis of the disagreement over fire protection services? The CRD claims it had an agreement with the City to move to a funding formula for the service based on net residential assessment, and the City claims Council never committed to that formula. What is the status of the agreement and fire protection services? Due to a court injunction, fire protection services are being provided until April 30, 2013. The CRD has filed a notice of civil claim against the City, and the City will respond. In the meantime, the City has asked the CRD to enter into mediation over the issue. Did the City ever threaten to withdraw fire protection service? No. The City never threatened to withdraw service, but needed an agreement in place in order to provide that service. The only means to provide the service without an agreement was through a court injunction, which the CRD sought and was granted.
All Senior Officers are certified evaluators and Fire Service Instructors level II. What does the City pay for fire protection? For the 2011 year, the City paid approximately $1.34 million of the $2.07 million cost for fire operations, capital projects, and loan payment on the fire hall. This represents approximately 65% of the cost. What have residents of the CRD fire protection area been paying? For the 2011 year, rural residents paid approximately $727,000 for fire operations, capital projects, and the debenture payment on the fire hall. This was divided among the three previous agreements. What standard are WLFD firefighters trained to? All Williams Lake firefighters are trained to National Fire Protection Association 1001 Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications. This is the British Columbia standard for fire departments offering full service structural protection.
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What capability does the WLFD have in dealing with hazardous material situations? The WLFD has a fully equipped and trained Hazardous Materials Response Team consisting of 15 technicians and 16 operation specialists. This team is capable of responding to hazardous materials spills of chemical, biological and liquid nature for mitigation purposes.
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