HomeMy WebLinkAboutFire and Emergency Services Minutes - June 29, 2021 Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Fire & Emergency Services Committee
Tuesday,
June 29, 2021
10:00 a.m.
Via Video Conferencing
Deputy Mayor Earlene MacMullin called the meeting to order.
Present: Deputy Mayor Earlene MacMullin, Chair
Councillor Gordon MacDonald
Councillor Glenn Paruch
Councillor Darren Bruckschwaiger, Vice-Chair
Councillor Lorne Green
Staff. Marie Walsh, Chief Administrative Officer
Jennifer Campbell, Chief Financial Officer
Chief Michael Seth, Director of Fire & Emergency Services
John MacKinnon, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
Deborah Campbell Ryan, Municipal Clerk
Deputy Fire Chief Gilbert MacIntyre, Operations
Deputy Fire Chief Chris March,Volunteer Coordinator,Training&Prevention
Bruce MacDonald, Manager of Emergency Management Operations
Volunteer Fire Chief Jim Prince, Cape Breton Regional Fire Chiefs' Association
Sharon MacSween, Senior Administrative Assistant
Angela Ross, Recording Secretary
Also
Attending: Mayor Amanda M. McDougall (left at 11:00 a.m.)
Councillor Steve Gillespie
Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 2 of 7
Summary of Decisions
Roll Call
1. Election/Selection of Vice-Chair:
Councillor Bruckschwaiger was declared Vice-Chair of the Fire & Emergency Services
Committee.
2. Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve Minutes from:
➢ Fire & Emergency Services Committee—March 3, 2020.
Carried.
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Motion to approve the June 29h, 2021, Fire & Emergency Services Agenda as presented.
Carried.
4. REPORTS:
4.1 Fire Chief/Director's Report:
The Fire Chief/Director's Report was presented.
For Information Only.
4.2 Operations:
A report on the operations of the Career Fire Services was provided.
For Information Only.
Continued...
Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 3 of 7
Summary of Decisions (cont'd):
REPORTS (Cont'd):
4.3 Volunteer Coordinator, Manager Fleet, Training & Prevention, Public
Information Officer:
The Volunteer Coordinator/Manager Fleet, Training and Prevention Report was provided.
For Information Only.
4.4 Manager of Emer2ency Management:
The EMO Committee and Working Group Activities Report was presented.
For Information Only.
4.5 Cape Breton Regional Fire Chiefs' Association Report:
Motion that as a Committee we bring the issue to Council and ask the Director to try to find
a way to accommodate the $15,000 from the corporate budget for this year for the specialty
emergency services provided by the volunteer fire fighters of CBRM. Carried.
Adiournment
Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 4 of 7
Roll Call
1. Election/Selection of Vice-Chair:
The Chair called for nominations for Vice-Chair of the Fire & Emergency Services Committee.
Councillor Bruckschwaiger nominated Councillor Green for Vice-Chair; Councillor Green
declined the nomination.
Deputy Mayor Earlene MacMullin nominated Councillor Darren Bruckschwaiger for Vice-
Chair. Councillor Bruckschwaiger accepted the nomination.
Hearing no further nominations, nominations ceased, and Councillor Bruckschwaiger was
declared the Vice-Chair of the Fire & Emergency Services Committee.
2. Approval of Minutes:
Motion:
Moved by Councillor Bruckschwaiger, seconded by Councillor Green, approval of the Minutes
from:
➢ Fire & Emergency Services Committee—March 3, 2020.
Motion Carried.
3. Approval of Agenda:
Motion:
Moved by Councillor Green, seconded by Councillor Gordon MacDonald, to approve the June
29, 2021 Fire & Emergency Services Committee Agenda as presented.
Motion Carried.
4. REPORTS:
4.1 Fire Chief/Director's Report:
Fire Chief Michael Seth, Director of Fire & Emergency Services, provided an update on his role
as Fire Chief. He advised that he conducted an on-the-ground observation and evaluation of the
state of the Fire Service in CBRM, noting that governance and administration are the primary
goals to ensure that the Fire Service maintains sustainability and to be able to make informed
decisions in the future that require direction.
Continued...
CBRM Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 5 of 7
REPORTS -Director/Fire Chief Report(Cont'd):
Fire Chief Seth then presented the following recommendations to Committee for discussion:
1. Fire Services Administration continue to develop the governance, authority, and
applicable bylaws/policies with the inclusion of Legal and Clerk's office to ensure
compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
2. Fire Services Administration provide committee with an Issue Paper with recommended
steps to address governance and authority of the fire services within CBRM.
3. Fire Services Administration provide an Issue Paper outlining the needs for data
collection, business intelligence for considering in future budgetary planning, while
evaluating any and all existing software programs and data sets that currently exist within
CBRM.
After the presentation, Committee discussed the following:
• The need for more volunteers
• Records Management and Data Collection systems
• Fire & Emergency Services Committee meetings should be held more frequently (e.g.,
every two months as per policy)
• Information sessions should be held with the Fire Chiefs' Association and full Council
4.2 Operations:
Gilbert MacIntyre, Deputy Fire Chief,provided the Committee with an update on the following:
➢ Labour Management/OHS
➢ Station 41
➢ New Station
➢ COVID Response
➢ New Hires
➢ Communication
After the report, the staff relocation to the new Fire Station and the Fire Service hiring process
was discussed.
For information only.
Continued...
CBRM Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 6 of 7
REPORTS (Cont'd):
4.3 Volunteer Coordinator, Manager Fleet, Training & Prevention, Public
Information Officer:
Chris March, Deputy Fire Chief, presented the Volunteer Coordinator, Manager Fleet, Training
& Prevention and Public Information Officer Report provided in the agenda, which included:
➢ Volunteer Coordinator
➢ Training
➢ Mission Statement
➢ Vision Statement
➢ Core Values
➢ Prevention
➢ Fleet
After the report, the Deputy Mayor shared her appreciation for the consistency and collaboration.
For information only.
4.4 Manager of Emer2ency Management:
Bruce MacDonald, Manager of Emergency Management, provided his report highlighting the
following items:
➢ Overview
➢ Recent Activities
o Liaison with External Partners
o Networking/Support
o Training/Exercises/Presentations
➢ CBRM EMO Program Development Activities
➢ COVID Related Activities
➢ COVID-19 3rd Wave internal communication/coordination statistics between September
28d', 2020, and June 18d', 2021
➢ Next Steps
o Short-term objectives
o Mid-term objectives
o Long-term objectives
For information only.
Continued...
CBRM Fire & Emergency Services Committee Minutes
June 29, 2021 Approved September 15, 2021 Page 7 of 7
REPORTS (Cont'd):
4.6 Cape Breton Regional Fire Chiefs' Association (CBRFCA):
Executive Chair and Volunteer Fire Chief Jim Prince provided an update from the Cape Breton
Regional Fire Chiefs' Association with updates following the election held by the Regional
Chiefs' Executive. Disappointment was expressed with Council's decision not to approve the
Specialty Services Budget request. He advised that those services are essential and that the
budgetary request will be put forward again. If no support from the CBRM is provided, the
quality and availability of the services will suffer.
Volunteer Fire Chief Jim Prince advised that the Association supports Fire Chief Seth's
recommendations and moving forward in a positive way. He thanked the Chair, Deputy Mayor
MacMullin, for attending the Associations' most recent meeting.
After the report, the Committee expressed their support for Specialty Services funding and
further discussion included the following:
• Fire Chief and Director of Finance to look for short term assistance to see what can be
done to assist with Specialty Services for the Fire Service
• Fire Service sustainability
• Funding request should be brought back to Council
After discussion, the following motion was put forward:
Motion:
Moved by Councillor Bruckschwaiger, seconded by Councillor Gordon MacDonald, that as a
Committee we bring the issue to Council and ask the Director to try to find a way to
accommodate the $15,000 from the corporate budget for this year for the specialty emergency
services provided by the volunteer fire fighters of CBRM.
Discussion:
During discussion, the CAO advised that there were many items in the budget that were removed
and all items are important. However in this instance, further study is required by the Chief in
terms of where it is needed and what do we currently have before allocating that amount in the
budget to those equipment items.
Motion Carried.
Deputy Fire Chief Chris March clarified he supports the need and that the Volunteer service will
not be compromised if the funding is not provided this year.
Adiournment at 11:49 p.m.
Deputy Mayor Earlene MacMullin Deborah Campbell Ryan
Chair Municipal Clerk
/acr