Greater Sudbury is making slow progress adding volunteer firefighters

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Slowly but surely, the number of volunteer firefighters is increasing.

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Staff will present an update at this week’s council meeting detailing recent efforts to recruit and train new volunteer firefighters.

The city currently employs 218 volunteers — a full complement consists of about 250 volunteer firefighters — who work a vast territory that stretches from Beaver Lake to Kukagami Lake Road and as far north as Levack.

The city received 131 applications during the most recent recruitment campaign (2023-24). A number of applicants withdrew or were disqualified, and the list was reduced to 56 who were scheduled for physical testing.

As noted by staff, the physical testing requirements have been modified to “best reflect the actual work a firefighter would be expected to perform when responding to an emergency incident.”

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During testing, two subjects failed the blood pressure test (150/100). They were asked to follow up with a doctor and were invited to return on their recovery date, at which point they both passed,” the staff reported.

“Another candidate failed his blood pressure test, was referred to a doctor and failed to complete the physical. A total of 47 candidates successfully progressed to the interview stage of the recruitment process.”

Following the interviews, 39 applicants received offers of commitment.

“Unfortunately, five of the 39 recruits who signed offer letters have since resigned, leaving 34 active recruits,” the staff reported. “The main reason identified for resigning from the fire service was that their main work schedule was too demanding and they could not commit to attending training.”

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Staff noted that volunteer recruitment will continue annually, with some changes next year.

“Recruiting in 2025 will focus on those stations with low numbers of volunteer firefighters,” staff wrote. “This station-specific focus will help address concerns about a single firefighter response by increasing the number of responders on a first-arriving apparatus while providing an overall increase in effective ground fire operations.”

Currently, there are four career stations, a compound hall in Val Therese and 17 volunteer fire stations scattered throughout the city. The council voted in June to close the Beaver Lake fire hall next year as well, so the number of volunteer positions will be further reduced.

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The council voted earlier this month to close fire halls in Copper Cliff, Val Caron and Falconbridge, consolidating firefighters at 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.

The municipality has an ambitious training program planned for 2025. To meet the certification requirements by July 1, 2026, Tom Davies Square will offer the most demanding program since the implementation of its new training protocol – 16 courses in 95 training days ( 950 hours). ).

“While there is a significant increase in certification training hours from 2024 to 2025, the ability to meet the additional hours will be offset by the two additional training officers who were hired in September 2024 to increase the capacity of the training section . ” remarked the staff. “Since most certification courses are scheduled on weekends to accommodate volunteers’ primary work, fire administration will meet with training station staff regularly to ensure they are not overused or experiencing burnout because of the imbalance between work and private life, because of the considerable number. of training weekends required in 2025.”

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Training is essential to building strong volunteers. But the city admits it has faced some challenges in making sure volunteers get the instruction they need under the new provincial regulations.

“The certification training provided by the (training section) over the past two years has been instrumental in improving volunteers’ knowledge, competence and confidence in their skills and abilities,” staff commented. “Currently, there are 39 VFFs who are neither certified nor registered to attend the certification training; this includes 11 who are on approved leave. 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 contacted each of the 22 individuals to determine their individual path to certification. In our continued efforts to provide some flexibility, we have requested a primary hiring schedule to evaluate opportunities for additional (daytime) certification training dates,” staff noted. “Unfortunately, no training opportunities have been identified during the week based on the employment schedules presented.”

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