The City needs to listen to the needs of firefighters directly from the frontline workers (Chief, career firefighters and volunteers) and respond in a timely manner.  There have been delays on the request for a new station which has resulted in an increase in the cost to build due to inflation resulting from the pandemic and now a tariff war with the US.  Delays are increasing the cost to build. 

The current official plan doesn’t mention firefighting infrastructure nor does it take into account firefighting coverage in determining where the development should take place.

There was a location by the CAT dealership that was bought to house the new firehall but it is not specifically laid out in the new official plan.  Mayor Brown has mentioned other uses for this land if it does become surplus. A concern I have about the location of that firehall is the current state of John Yeo Drive which is a private road and is not maintained by the city. This road would be a critical through way for the hall because it would give it a second exit which would be particularly critical in heavy traffic flow on Malpeque road.

The official plan needs to include a plan for fire and other emergency services both in terms of infrastructure and resources (human, trucks, equipment).  The official plan should have a mandatory review every five years and a new plan every 10 years to keep pace with the growing needs of the city including fire service.  The capacity needs to consider population, density growth and geographical footprint.  There should also be a traffic study done on major emergency routes to ensure that emergency vehicles can pass safely, especially on roads where there can be soft shoulders and ditches and minimal space to pull over.  We know that the growth in calls does not have a linear correlation with population growth as we have seen an increase of 42% in calls between 2020 and 2024 with more false alarms in newer buildings. Additionally as the population grows and ages, we will see more medical emergencies and our health care system is currently failing so an undue burden will be placed on firefighters.

No, I don’t believe that the City’s current approach to planning and development adequately considers the capacity of municipal services.  We can see this in other areas as well including parking where we have failed infrastructure. We need to ensure that firefighters get to calls on time and also have access to the water supply/pressure and equipment (hoses and ladders) that they need to access taller buildings.  We also need to ensure that firefighters have adequate training for larger structure fires.  When it comes to the accessory dwelling units, we need to ensure that they are built with proper egress. 

Yes, this is how we ensure we keep pace with growth.  If we were to adopt a mandatory five year review and ten year full update, then we could analyze what capacity of the fire service looks like for the next five and ten years and if it is aligned with the plan.

We need to ensure that there is adequate succession planning and that the profession remains attractive to young people (pay, respect, working conditions, adequate time off, benefits, counselling services for those who experience trauma through the job).  We need to consider recruitment for career firefighters from the volunteer force.  We need to have a long-term budget cycle rather than year to year.

No, it is not sustainable.  There is a risk of burnout when calls/year exceed 300 and the last publicly available number was 400 at Station 2 which is entirely reliant on volunteers.  We need to understand the current composition of the volunteer force (age, experience) so that we have adequate succession planning and we need to estimate attrition vs new recruitment trends so that we ensure that the volunteer force remains staffed.  We don’t want to run the risk of having a large portion of our experienced volunteer force exit all at once due to age without having people coming through the ranks to replace them.

We need to prioritize essential services over nice-to-haves. If this means the city lacks the financial resources, new revenues must be considered to ensure adequately funded emergency and other essential services.

I would need to see the Fire Underwriters Survey assessment.  I think that investment in essential services takes priority over other investments.  I would want to see a breakdown of calls and determine if there is anything that we could proactively do to reduce the pressure of calls (false alarms).  I would like to see a heat map of where the most calls are coming from to ensure that the investment is being made at the right location.

I think that the City should use that professional assessment along with data from recent years, first hand accounts of the experience of the chief, platoon chiefs, career firefighters and volunteer firefighters and accounts of other emergency services to make long term decisions.

Yes, it should be available. Making residents aware of the assessment of the fire protection capabilities will make decisions easier for the mayor and council if there is broad public support.

I would ask them what their experience has been so far on the job and what are the major changes they have observed in their time in the role.  I would ask what the City could best do to support the department into the future.  I am not nor have I ever been a firefighter so I don't have expertise in this area. I would want to listen to voices with that expertise so that the City makes the best possible decisions for the firefighters and public safety.

I want to address the two key issues that have been coming up for the past decade: the third station and the fourth person on the truck.

Being responsive to the needs of the requests of the Charlottetown Fire Department. I am not a firefighter and I think that decisions are best when they are informed by the lived experience of those in the role.