The Greater Napanee Professional Fire Fighters Association is urging the Mayor and Council to approve the Fire Chief’s recommendation to hire four full-time firefighters in the 2024 budget.
“The Town of Greater Napanee continues to grow with new development, new businesses, and increasing population. This is good news for the local economy, but a warning flag for elected officials who must make critical decisions about public safety,” the Fire Fighters Association shared in a release. “As Napanee grows the fire department must keep up with the increased demand for service. Unfortunately, the fire department is understaffed compared to similar municipalities.”
myFM spoke with Chris Tyner, President of the Greater Napanee Professional Fire Fighters Local 2822, who told us full-time firefighters are currently on shift from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., meaning there’s no one in the hall after 6pm.
He says the fire department is understaffed compared to similar municipalities.
Tyner shared that the daytime crews responded swiftly and effectively to multiple fires last year. “It takes 4-6 minutes for our volunteer firefighters to get to the station and assemble on the trucks. If these same fires had happened after 6 p.m. and had an additional 4-6 minutes to grow, the outcome would have been drastically different.”
As council continues budget deliberations, the Greater Napanee Professional Firefighters urge the mayor and council to approve the hiring and expansion to full-time coverage 24 hours a day.
Written by Emily Chatwood