The Sooke Fire Department expects to begin providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service on May 24.
The implementation of the round-the-clock service involved the recruitment of two additional career firefighters, adjusting existing shifts, and introducing a new scheduling system.
Salary and benefits for a first-year firefighter cost $101,000, with Sooke Fire Rescue’s community safety budget accounting for 20 per cent of the district’s overall budget for 2023.
Sooke Fire Rescue Chief Ted Ruiter said the additions enable 24-hour coverage and move the department into a better position regarding staffing, community safety, and the safety of firefighters.
The fire department’s current part-time staffing model, which relies on paid-on-call and career firefighters, won’t support future growth due to the continued trend of high-density developments and low to mid-rise buildings to combat the housing crisis, according to a district staff report.
The report noted that Sooke Fire Rescue’s on-duty staffing level has remained unchanged for the past 13 years and has not kept up with the rapid population growth. The population in 2011 was 11,435 compared to 16,086 in 2021, an increase of 32 per cent.
In the Fire Master Plan completed in 2022, nine areas were identified for improvement, and recommendations were provided for implementing best practices, including 24-hour career firefighters on duty at Station One.
Ruiter said the full-time coverage will include two career firefighters at Station No. 1 24 hours a day backed up with paid-on-call firefighters.
“It offers the paid-on-call firefighters with new opportunities. Their role will change, but we will always need them,” he said.
The current model is 11 hours a day, with an on-call duty officer covering the remaining 13 hours.
The District of Sooke plans to add two career firefighters in 2024, two more in 2025, and another two in 2026.
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– With a report from Rick Stiebel
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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