Why? Because neighbour helping neighbour belongs to a bygone age.
And it's being condoned by your elected officials if bureaucrats get their way.
As part of the ongoing--and never ending--editing of the District of Coldstream's Policy Manual under the guise of streamlining its principles and practices, Chief Administrative Officer Michael Stamhuis recommends the following policy to our elected officials:
"The District of Coldstream will not respond to any fire calls beyond the District of Coldstream's Fire Protection Boundary unless a mutual-aid agreement is in place."
Draft of Policy #FD08, To designate the
response area for the Fire Department
Whether or not a mutual-aid agreement is in place won't be important as your--or your neighbour's--structure burns.
And response delays caused by Fire Chiefs fumbling through streetmaps, or Google Streetview--all the while scanners and pagers crackling with alarm--doesn't bode well for public safety.
It's just a matter of knowing where you live, and the North Okanagan Regional District's Fire Boundary map may be a good place to start looking.
When it comes down to the potential risk to life and property posed by a fire--any fire--it would be reassuring to know that two fire halls respond--versus none--if your residence happens to be on the perimeter of two (or even three) fire jurisdictions, especially in the maze of boundaries found in the North Okanagan.
Ask any long-serving volunteer fire fighter and they'll shake their head in disbelief at the apparent need for a mutual-aid agreement (draft here), adding "They're our neighbours! We respond to alarm and smoke; to hell with a bureaucrat's paper boundaries".
Bureaucrats justify their existence with paperwork.
"...in the District of Stamhuis," adds Kia.
Remember: Primum non nocere? First, do no harm!
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