Amalgamation

[PhilippAchtel]

During the April 25 meeting of council in which the award was announced, fire chief Mike Figliola suggested the city’s firefighters would not be allowed to sleep during the new 24-hour shifts, despite management’s position during negotiation that stated 24 hour-long shifts were ‘dangerous’ due to the potential for sleep deprivation.

At the time, Figliola said safety was the number one concern and he would remove firefighters from service and conduct callbacks for those firefighters showing signs of sleep deprivation.

Well, that doesn't sound at all like a manager cutting off their nose to spite their face. I'm sure the chief got over their in-the-moment tantrum and worked to build bridges with their staff...

CAO acknowledges management has 'not handled communication nor implementation well'

Hmmm.

Of course, the role of firefighters is changing. They now increasingly respond to non-fire calls such as medical emergencies and motor vehicle accidents. In Ontario, from 2000 to 2012, the number of fire-related calls fell by 15 per cent while non-fire-related calls increased by 24 per cent.

...


But consider this. During the same 16-year period, the number of firefighters in Canada grew to 32,400 from 25,900—a 25 per cent increase, outpacing the country’s overall population growth (16 per cent). Unfortunately, without comparative national fire data after 2002, we can’t say for certain whether Canada is experiencing an Ontario-style trend (more firefighters for fewer fires).

But we do know the trend of more firefighters and fewer fires is occurring in the United States and internationally. Thanks to updated building codes and better technology (fire-proofing materials, smoke alarms, sprinklers, etc.), the number of fires everywhere seems to be on the wane.

Better technology leads to fewer fires, which leads to Frasier Institute types to demand additional workload on firefighters to protect "mah tax dollars", which leads to increased reliance and spending on firefighters, which leads to Frasier Institute types to demand a reduction on fire services spending to protect "mah tax dollars".

This forum needs the thinking guy emoji.