The Southside Volunteer Fire Department is suffering from an acute lack of resources, according to Evan Plesko, chief of the volunteer firefighting corps. Funding problems are so bad that the department is unable to replace its broken-down fire engine — leaving it unable to handle structure fires.
Training is part of the problem, said Plesko. Special licenses are required before volunteers are able to provide certain emergency services, and it’s hard for people with full-time jobs to find the time to do the training — and that training also requires funding. Volunteer retention is also a problem, said Plesko.
“It’s really difficult,” he said, explaining that the fire department lacks both manpower and equipment.
The department doesn’t meet requirements for entering buildings when incidents occur, meaning that the firefighters are limited to putting out blazes from outside. “We’re strictly exterior firefighters,” he said.
Some members are in the process of getting trained for dealing with motor vehicle accidents and extrication procedures. But the firefighters have only basic first aid training.
Plesko said firefighters could probably help a resident needing first aid in a pinch, but the fire department’s insurance only covers members for providing medical care to each other.
Plesko noted that an ambulance station exists on the Southside, so the fire department is glad to allow paramedics to deal with medical emergencies. “We try not to overextend ourselves,” he said.
But he also noted that a shortage of funds has left the fire department without a working fire engine. “One of our trucks is broken down and is actually so old that nobody will work on it,” he said.
The fire department needs funding to get another vehicle, he said. But funding hasn’t been forthcoming.
“We’re hitting stone walls with the regional district,” he said, saying that money for firefighting services in the area comes from a tax levied by the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN).
However, a recent increase in that tax has helped provide some training for the fire department, he said, adding that volunteer retention is a bigger issue than money at this point.
The fire department has four vehicles in total, and they can be used for fighting fires, including a tanker truck that can be attached to a pump. But it’s not nearly enough to meet the relevant specifications for fighting structure fires, said Plesko.
“Right now we are not meeting requirements for what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said. The department’s firefighting capacities are generally limited to smaller wild-land fires, he said.
Officials from the RDBN didn’t immediately reply to an email from the Lakes District News requesting a comment on Friday afternoon.