The Numbers Raise a Burning Question

 

.

FIRE DEPARTMENT—OR AMBULANCE BACKUP?

Nearly seven out of every ten Nanaimo Fire Rescue calls in July were for medical aid.

THE JULY NUMBERS

```

Total calls: 1,039
Medical aid: 716
All fire-related calls: 110
Structure fires: 5
Bush fires: 44
Other fire calls: 61

```

The numbers pretty much say it all.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue responded to 1,039 calls during July. Of those, 716 were for medical aid—nearly 69 per cent of the total.

Only 110 calls were fire-related. Just five involved structure fires.

Medical calls outnumbered all fire calls by more than six to one. They outnumbered structure fires by more than 140 to one.

No one is suggesting firefighters should ignore someone suffering a heart attack, overdose or other life-threatening emergency. When help is urgently needed, the closest qualified responder should answer.

But Nanaimo taxpayers are entitled to know what service they are actually funding.

The city recently added 40 full-time firefighters at considerable ongoing cost. We are now told that the additional staffing allows Nanaimo to send four firefighters and a reserve engine to help fight the wildfire threatening Clinton while maintaining adequate protection at home.

Helping another community is not the problem. Nanaimo may someday need the same assistance.

The larger question is whether those 40 additional firefighters were primarily needed to improve local fire protection—or whether they are increasingly compensating for weaknesses in the provincially operated ambulance and health-care systems.

Taxpayers deserve some straight answers:

```

How many medical calls genuinely require a full-sized fire engine and a four-person crew? How often are firefighters sent because an ambulance is delayed or unavailable? How much firefighter time is spent waiting for paramedics? What does this medical workload cost Nanaimo property taxpayers—and how much does the province reimburse?

```

Those are not criticisms of firefighters. They are questions about responsibility, efficiency and who should be paying the bill.

Firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to medical emergencies. But when nearly seven out of every ten calls are medical—and only one-half of one per cent involve structure fires—the public has every right to ask:

Is Nanaimo Fire Rescue still primarily a fire department—or has it become the province’s municipally funded ambulance backup?