Agenda Package - City of Vernon

2009 Year in Review: Vernon Fire - Rescue Services
Fire Prevention & Training Highlights
Fire Prevention, Public Education and Training initiatives have been ongoing throughout 2009. A new
Fire Training Officer and Fire lnspector were hired and required to hit the ground running in order to
meet the challenges 2009 presented them. A 3 year contract for fire investigation and inspections was
agreed upon with the Village of Lumby and the fire investigation contract with the District of Coldstream
was updated to match. Vernon Fire Rescue Services partnered with Vernon Community Policing and
delivered the training for CUPE's City Watch program. A Tri-City tour allowed for a comparison of
methodology in both prevention and training and provided a starting point as to the direction VFRS
needed to go. A "Sell don't tell!" attitude supported with a fine system for enforcement was adopted as
a compliance strategy for prevention. The strategy has been applied to targeted problem occupancies
and has resulted in a number of significant successes. A training overview and goals and objectives were
created as well as discussions started with College of the Rockies and the B.C. Justice lnstitute with
intent of bringing VFRS training in line with the NFPA 1001 Standard and setting the stage for the
development of a strong training program framework for both VFRS's career and volunteer firefighters.
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