Bay Roberts asked to take sides on paying firefighters for ambulance calls

By Mark Squibb/March 24, 2023

A letter from the Town of New-Wes Valley opened a larger debate around the Bay Robert’s council chamber regarding how far volunteer firefighter duties should extend.

“They’re seeking the Town’s support to petition MNL (Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador) to advocate on behalf of the volunteer fire departments who are performing non-traditional duties, such as medical calls,” explained CAO Nigel Black.

He added that as far as he understood it, New-Wes-Valley is not arguing whether volunteers should respond to such calls, but advocating for financial compensation for departments that do.

Bay Roberts Fire Rescue is one such department, and Mayor Yetman said the question is whether community volunteers should be expected to respond to medical calls, which are typically the purview of trained, and paid, paramedics.

“This is something that needs to be discussed beyond this request for compensation,” said Yetman. “It is a bigger issue, and it needs to be discussed.”

Councillor Dean Franey, himself a volunteer firefighter, said while volunteers aren’t “drove off our heads,” responding to medical calls, they are becoming more frequent.

He added the fire department doesn’t receive the call from 911, but the ambulance provider who requests that the volunteers lend a hand. If, however, an ambulance is unavailable, 911 will call the fire department directly.

Either way, said Franey, the department is sometimes on the scene before the ambulance.

He added that while most firefighters have passed advanced first aid courses, they do not transport patients from the scene.

“There’s no one being put in the back of the fire truck and brought to Carbonear,” said Franey. “Basically, we stabilize the best we can, to the training and the ability and the equipment that we have, until the ambulance can get to the scene.”

Councillor Silas Badcock, also a volunteer, took a different stance than Franey.

“I feel, as a volunteer, I’m well trained for fire duties,” said Badcock. “But, when the alarm goes off, and I have to attend an accident or a call that I feel I’m not prepared for, I’ll be honest with you, I’m not going. It’s a personal thing. But we have a lot of members with a lot of different opinions.”

Deputy Mayor Geoff Seymour asked whether firefighters were covered by insurance to provide medical assistance, a concern shared by Yetman.

Black said that as long as firefighters perform within the limits of their training, they are covered by insurance.

At this point in the meeting, Yetman wondered “who’s getting away with not attending to their responsibilities by having our Fire Rescue, our volunteers, volunteers, and remember that, they are volunteers, responding?”

Franey said on the last number of medical calls he answered, the ambulance was either already on the scene or arrived very shortly after.

“But we are still going to be put in situations where we could be beyond our capabilities,” argued Yetman, which Franey agreed with “100 percent.”

Currently, Bay Roberts Fire Rescue volunteers do not receive compensation for attending medical calls.

In incidents where volunteers attend scenes on certain segments of the Veterans Memorial Highway, Franey said the provincial government will reimburse them.

Councillor Perry Bowering said volunteers should be compensated, as responding to medical calls is beyond their mandate and jurisdiction.

In the end, council voted unanimously to support New-Wes-Valley’s bid for compensation for all departments performing duties beyond the scope of their volunteer mandate.

“At the end of the day, if someone is going to keep doing a service and not get paid for it, the provincial government will keep letting them do that forever,” said Seymour. “This is a way to change that.”

Franey put in a final word, setting aside the question of money and responsibility.

“Anytime we’ve responded to a call, the residents were very grateful that we were there — very grateful,” said Franey. “And sometimes, if you’ve got to wait for an ambulance, you’ve got to have somebody wait with you.”