KAWARTHA LAKES-The City of Kawartha Lakes has about a dozen so called “double-hatters” on the volunteer payroll and Fire Chief Mark Pankhurst says he has no problem with it. “In some areas it is quite a contentious issue but our professional firefighters have always got along with the double-hatters and there’s a mutual respect there.” Pankhurst told Kawartha 411, “There hasn’t really been an issue.”
Double-hatters are full-time firefighters in one municipality who also provide volunteer fire services in their home community. In some municipalites they are penalized for doing so. “I have been drawing attention to this issue since I was first elected in 2003” MPP, Labour Minister Laurie Scott told the 66th Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs in Niagara Falls recently. “Many Ontario communities rely on volunteer firefighters to protect homes, families and livelihoods. Full-time firefighters who want to help their neighbours by acting as volunteer firefighters face potential discipline from their associations or threats to their full-time jobs. Our proposed reforms to finally protect “double–hatters” will promote public safety and allow firefighters to choose how they volunteer, in their free time.”
Scott says she is taking steps to protect double-hatters by ammending the Fire Protection and prevention Act. The proposed amendments to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (FPPA), introduced as part of the 2018 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review (Bill 57), would:
- Allow municipalities to resist any pressure to dismiss professional firefighters for “doublehatting”.
- Ensure that professional firefighters cannot face association penalties for “double-hatting”.
The protection from discipline for “double-hatting” would apply effective November 15, 2018 (the day Bill 57 was introduced) regardless of whether the work as a volunteer firefighter occurred before that date.
Pankhurst says the new legislation would be welcome news. “Before the legislation Fire Services could dictate to the members what they could and couldn’t do on their own time. Anybody should be able to do what they want on their own time, you can sit at home and do  nothing or you can volunteer, you can have a side business or whatever it is you want to do.”
Many smaller communites rely on the experience and expertise of double-hatters. Former City of Kawartha Lakes Fire Chief Dave Guilbault says when he was in the City, 21 firefighters, including captains and training officers had to leave their volunteer positions. “That’s a travesty, these are experienced people trying to protect their homes, communities and businesses.” Guilbault explained. “Small communities, they can’t afford to have careeer firefighters, the tax base isn’t there and the volunteers do one heck of a job, they do a great job in the Kawartha Lakes, what they get paid is a pittance compared to a career firefighter.” Guilbault was CKL Fire Chief for ten years from 2000-2010. He is currently the Fire chief in the Township of Wellington North.
As of 2016, the province had 19,363 volunteer, 11,318 full-time, and 274 part-time firefighters. The City of Kawartha Lakes currently has 350 volunteer firefighters within the ranks.
Firefighters caught double-hatting face fines, suspension or expulsion from the union. We have an email in to the Firefighters Union and are waiting for a response.
The proposed legislation still has to be passed.
