The number of fire-related calls to 911 jumped dramatically during 2024, from about 220 to more than 300, city officials say.
During the most recent meeting of the community and emergency services committee, Jesse Oshell, deputy fire chief, delivered a housekeeping report on the activities of the fire service over the first three quarters of 2024.
Oshell said the number of fire-related calls jumped by 40 per cent. In 2023, there were 222 calls between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, and this year that number climbed to 313. There were other small changes in 2024 — for example, the number of calls for vehicular collisions dropped by three per cent while the number of calls for medical assistance increased by four per cent.
Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbee wanted to know why there was an increase in the number of fire-related calls.
Oshell admitted “we are trending upwards in fires, and we have been over the past few years.” He acknowledged 313 calls is a significant number.
“We are working towards increasing our education component to the community, as we always do,” he commented, noting the city tracks the causes of fires where possible. “Careless fires continue to be the number one cause in the community, whether that is careless cooking, careless smoking — those types of incidents are on the rise.”
Oshell also told committee members the city continues to bolster its numbers while focusing on training.
Eleven new recruits completed a ten-week training academy in September and 15 career staff are now certified as training officers, which means they are able to support training on an as-needed basis.
“Fire services delivers high-quality training programs to both the volunteer and full-time suppression staff. Our training ensures new recruits and existing firefighters meet the Ontario Fire Marshal regulatory standards to deliver council-approved service levels,” staff noted in the report. “The introduction of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s mandatory certification has required our fire service to significantly increase our training requirements, and our firefighters’ recent success in certification exams highlights the quality and effectiveness of our programs.”
The city also re-trained many of its veteran career firefighters.
“This included the following training focus: two 10-hour days of fireground survival skills, rapid intervention crew training and live fire evolutions; and two 10-hour days of discipline-specific training, such as water rescue, hazardous materials and rope rescue,” staff noted.
City hall recently recruited 34 new volunteer firefighters. Like their career counterparts, volunteers must undergo training and the municipality said next year, it has an ambitious plan to deliver 16 courses to its volunteers over 95 training days (950 hours).
But Tom Davies Square admits it has faced training challenges. In a report presented earlier this month to council, staff said there are currently 39 volunteer firefighters who are neither certified nor registered for training.
“This includes 11 who are on an approved leave of absence,” staff noted. “A training plan will need to be developed on a case-by-case basis upon the individual’s return to work.”
Question marks remain for 22 of the 28 remaining volunteers.
“We have contacted each of the 22 individuals to determine their individual path to achieve certification. In our continued efforts to provide some flexibility, we requested a primary employment schedule to evaluate opportunities for additional (daytime) certification training dates,” staff reported last week. “Unfortunately, there were no weekday training opportunities identified based upon the employment schedules submitted.”
While Greater Sudbury does not have a fire response time standard, the staff report noted an average response time in 2024 of about eight minutes for career firefighters — 8:14 during the first quarter; 7:49 during the second quarter; and 7:57 during the third quarter.
Volunteer firefighters averaged a response time of about 15 minutes — 15:35 during the first quarter; 16:36 during the second quarter; and 15 minutes during the third quarter of 2024.
Greater Sudbury experienced 17 major fire loss incidents (with more than $100,000 in damages) between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30. In the largest and most destructive blaze, an apartment building on Young Street in Capreol was levelled, causing $950,000 in damages. In total, the major incidents caused $5.35 million in damages.
The total estimated monetary losses due to fire dropped by 34 per cent this year, from about $11 million during the first three quarters of 2023 to $7.3 million.
There are currently four career stations; a composite hall in Val Therese comprised of career and volunteer firefighters; and 17 volunteer stations scattered throughout the city. Council voted in June to close the fire hall in Beaver Lake and next year, the number of volunteer stations will be reduced even further.
Council voted during budget talks to close the fire halls in Copper Cliff, Val Caron and Falconbridge, consolidating firefighters into the stations in Lively, Val Therese and Garson. They hope to close the halls by the end of December, affecting about 20 firefighters. The closures will save the city about $74,000 annually.
Staff said fire services also undertook extensive fire prevention and inspection activities over the course of the year. To date, staff have conducted 222 occupancy inspections and inspectors “are in the final stages of completing mandatory inspections of our 54 care facilities.” Staff have also completed 31 on-site inspections since August for occupancy permits.
Staff also noted repairs are required at the fire tower located at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre, which is used for training.
“Structural concerns were brought to the city’s building and assets section regarding the fire training tower at the Lionel E Lalonde Centre,” the report indicated. “Structural assessments have been conducted by A2S Consulting Engineers and Labbs Industries, and a plan is being developed for required repairs of the training tower.”