The question of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District providing road rescue services has been deferred to August.
In early 2023, Tim Pley and Associates (TPA) was hired to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to determine the options for under-serviced areas such as the North Shuswap, Sorrento-Blind Bay and Falkland.
Presented to the Electoral Area directors at their May 7 meeting, a report from Derek Sutherland, general manager of community and protective services, distilled the study’s 22 recommendations into a total of four for consideration at the June 20 regular board meeting in Salmon Arm.
“We refined them to a few recommendations that may be palatable for the board to deliberate,” Sutherland said.
The first option for delivery of road rescue service is to encourage and allow certain fire departments to create a road rescue society that utilizes CSRD Fire Services equipment, facilities and apparatus. This model would require fire departments to fundraise for specific equipment and operate out of their halls.
This option available to all CSRD areas does not require an assent process.
In Option 2 however, and assent process could be undertaken to provide service delivery within the fire suppression of the Shuswap Fire Department in Electoral Areas C and G, Electoral Area G, Falkland and Area F sub-regional boundaries.
A third option would include getting public approval within the Celista Fire Department boundaries only. This would allow provincial reimbursement for responses to Scotch Creek and Anglemont with an approved task number from the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
The fourth option is to maintain the current service delivery model and lobby the province to make policy changes that allow local fire departments to bill the province at an adequate rate in order to sustain operations.
“The trouble with road rescue in B.C. is that it’s not adequately supported at the provincial level to reimburse local fire departments for the real costs of providing road rescue service,” said Sutherland, pointing out that reimbursement rates were not increased as hoped in the province’s new road rescue policy. “It is unlikely that will change until ICBC changes their policies on paying for fire response through insurance reimbursement for accidents. Until that time these are the options available to the board for action around road rescue.”
Electoral Area C Director Marty Gibbons noted the Chase Fire Department and the Salmon Arm Road Rescue Unit have provided road rescue service to electoral areas C and G. He pointed out that the CSRD donates money to the Salmon Arm unit and asked how it would be impacted by regional fire departments becoming involved in road rescue.
“The board needs to be really careful in making this decision because we do have a really great rescue society in Salmon Arm and we do want to continue to support them,” Sutherland said, noting that if the society no longer existed, there would be implications for the Salmon Arm Fire Department. “Staff is recommending continued support for the Salmon Arm Rescue Unit remain in place within the Salmon Arm road rescue boundaries.”
He added that traditionally the Salmon Arm Rescue Unit has not serviced G and most parts of area C; however, Chase Fire Department is responding to fewer road rescue calls so Salmon Arm is expanding their response outside of their traditional boundaries.
Board chair Kevin Flynn echoed the belief of some other directors that the board needs more time to consider the options and asked for clarity on the process of getting voter assent for any of the options.
Chief executive officer John MacClean explained the different processes and reminded directors the establishment of any new service requires discussion at, and approval by, the whole board, not just electoral area directors.
“It is important everybody understands the report, the recommendations, and has the opportunity to ask questions, discuss and make recommendations and decisions,” he said. “It’s a big decision; the existing policy is that we don’t do this, period. So we’re changing a long-standing policy.”
MacLean advised directors to ask staff for specific information that is not covered off in the report and to share their requests with other directors. This will allow staff to provide detailed information to the August Committee of the Whole meeting so a “fulsome recommendation” can be presented to the regular board meeting on the following day.
