Kawartha 411 has spent the last few months collaborating with CTV W5 on this story. This is a look at the issue locally. W5 will have a national look at the issue on Saturday, October 1 at 7pm.
KAWARTHA LAKES-Michael McMillan was Paul and Glenna’s only child. He enjoyed being outdoors. The 39-year-old liked fishing, camping and canoeing.
The McMillans live on Country Lane in Cameron. On February 14th of this year, they awoke to the smell of something burning and someone banging on the door yelling “fire”.
“As soon as he said “fire” I looked down there and saw the smoke.” Paul McMillian told W5. “I tried to get upstairs but you couldn’t breathe. And I kept trying to yell his name. You couldn’t get the door open. He had this thing about locking the door.”
When firefighters arrived flames were shooting out of a window on the second floor.
The family home is just minutes from the Cameron Fire Hall. Through a freedom of information request, Kawartha 411 News has learned fire crews were dispatched at 7:39 am and started spraying water on the fire 17 minutes later, at 7:56 am. The Cameron Fire Station is 2.5km down and road, a two-minute drive. A fire doubles in size every few minutes.
Paul and Glenna wonder if a quicker response could have saved their son.
“We’re talking lives,” an emotional Glenna said. “We’re talking my son’s life. Maybe if it was manned, maybe a few minutes would have made a difference….Maybe not. But in these intense instances when you know it’s 20 minutes.”
Even so, they don’t blame the firefighters, who are all volunteers.
“They are amazing that they would even do that because you know what? Most people wouldn’t even come and cut your grass, let alone go into a burning house and try to save your child or you. I know it’s a dangerous job. It’s hot, it’s dirty, and they just do it partly because they feel responsible, partly because they like to help.” Glenna continued.
The cause of the fire was deemed accidental and according to the Fire Marshal’s report, the smoke alarm on the second floor was not working.
Brandon Armstrong is also wondering if two of his family members could have been saved.
It was March 25th 2020 when tragedy struck the Armstrong family. Emergency personnel were called to his Young Street home near Sebright at approximately 8:39 a.m. Brandon’s mother and son-in-law both perished in the blaze.
“The only thing I can remember is it sounded like a freight train going through my house. That’s how loud the fire was.” Armstrong said during an interview with W5.
Brandon’s mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had a stroke. She had recently arrived to spend a few days with Brandon and his family. They were all sleeping when his son Chandler and grandson Lincoln woke them up screaming about the fire.
“Chaos. Lots of flames. Lots of smoke. Like I could barely see down the hallway. I had to crawl. Just to get out.”
Brandon says all he could think about was getting his grandson out of the house.
“My Mom’s feet. All the time. Even in my nightmares, I see her feet as I run by them. So. It’s not easy. I had a lot of counselling, a lot of therapy sessions since then.”
His son-in-law Grant went back into the fire to try and save his mother. Neither one made it out. Brandon tried to go back in to get them but was pushed back by heat and flames.
“I seen my mother and Grant. Grant made it to her, but he never tried to get out. When I found him, she was on his lap and he was holding her. So he knew he wasn’t coming out.”
According to Brandon by the time the fire department arrived his house had burned to the ground. Sources told Kawartha 411 News it took approximately 25 minutes to get four firefighters on scene.
A minimum of four firefighters is required to safely and appropriately execute an internal attack or rescue.
“Had they been there within 10 minutes, oh, yeah. They would have been definitely saved. But they’re volunteers right, they’re at home. They’re not in a station like a normal firehouse.” Brandon said. “The fire department wasn’t even there. So there was cops and SWAT team there before the fire department was.”
An independent review of the Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue was presented to City council in January 2022. It warned of a severe shortage of volunteer firefighters in the City of Kawartha Lakes and found response times were putting residents and firefighters at risk and said it should be rectified immediately.
“A course correction is needed – without delay.” said the report.
“You know, our review was a bit of a wake-up call for Kawartha Lakes to make it clear that you’re flirting with sustainability problems with your model,” said Todd MacDonald President of Performance Concepts Consulting in an interview with W5. “You have to do a better job of recruiting and retaining firefighters to make sure that this economically attractive model is also sustainable from a safety point of view, both for the firefighters. Now, for the public.”
Kawartha 411 News was first to sound the alarm on the issue of recruitment and response times. Read more here:https://www.kawartha411.ca/2022/03/08/independent-review-of-kawartha-lakes-fire-found-unacceptable-response-times-constitute-significant-risk-to-public-and-firefighter-safety/
MacDonald says their review found Lindsay has a full-time complement of 16 firefighters, much as you would see in many urban areas of Canada. However, across the rest of Kawartha Lakes, the remaining 18 stations are staffed exclusively by volunteers, and they require a minimum level of staffing strength at each of these stations. He says there is a target of 20 volunteer firefighters per station but they are hard-pressed to meet that target. The Insurance Bureau of Canada requires a minimum of 15 active volunteer firefighters per hall, with 21 preferred. At the time of the report, nine of our 19 stations had fewer than 15 firefighters.
When a firehall doesn’t have enough staff the consequences for residents can be catastrophic. In May, 63-year-old Wendy Brown died after being trapped in the basement of her burning home.
Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service responded to the, “fully involved structure fire,” on Pigeon Creek Road in Janetville at around 11:15 am on May 27th. A Freedom of Information request by Kawartha 411 News has learned there was no response from the Janetville fire station for almost 50 minutes. The station is a mere 800 metres from Wendy Brown’s home. The first fire truck on scene came from Pontypool which took approximately 22 minutes to arrive. The fire happened in the middle of the day when many volunteers would be at their regular job.
The review recommended the City immediately prioritize the recruitment and training of volunteer firefighters across Kawartha Lakes stations to significantly reduce/eliminate the current 71 volunteer firefighter deficit by end of 2022.
On May 17th Chief Jones told Kawartha 411 recruitment was going well and that 30 new volunteers were in the process of being trained and ready to deploy to stations. Another 30 will be recruited during the remainder of the year. Read the full story here:https://www.kawartha411.ca/2022/05/17/30-new-volunteer-firefighters-being-trained-to-address-serious-staff-shortages-in-city-of-kawartha-lakes/
Chief Jones explained, “Due to the dedication and professionalism of Station Captains, we are able to keep volunteer firefighters trained to the provincial standard. Maintaining training for upwards of 400 firefighters across 19 stations over 3200 square kilometres, amid changing mandatory requirements and pandemic demands is daunting at times. It is because we have citizens willing to become volunteer firefighters that we can sustain our hybrid model. With Council support to build a long-term plan, I’m confident we are addressing the training shortcomings of the past,” noted Chief Jones at the time.
Too late for Wendy Brown.
According to the review, the gap between how much Kawartha Lakes spends on fire response and what its peers spend is significant. For instance, the lowest spending comparator (Timmins) spends 66% more per household than Kawartha Lakes despite a lack of comparable taxable assessment growth.
“The significantly lower spending pattern in Kawartha Lakes versus the peers can potentially be explained by two factors: an efficiency dividend or a service level gap. Given the breadth of the spending gap, and the performance issues already identified in this Report, service level variation is the most likely explanation.” states the review.
The review also found the Timmins, Sudbury, and Chatham-Kent “best fit” comparators all deploy a more robust firefighter staffing model at their full-time stations than Kawartha Lakes.
W5 and Kawartha 411 wanted to speak with Mayor Andy Letham about the serious issues facing the fire service. Two interviews were set up with W5 and subsequently cancelled by the City. W5 caught up with Letham outside City Hall.
“I don’t appreciate being ambushed out here,” Letham said.
Host Avery Haines explained they had repeatedly tried to have a conversation with him.
“You’re not being ambushed. We’ve tried repeatedly to have a conversation with you. We’re putting together a report that paints a fairly disturbing picture about public safety and wanted to give you an opportunity to discuss it with you.” Haines replied.
“I appreciate that.” said Letham “And we’ll do it through our council.” We speak as a group and council, and I don’t think it is a disturbing report.”
When pushed on why he didn’t think the report was disturbing Letham replied, “We’re making lots of great moves, moving forward with it.”
A new Master Fire plan adopted by council in May includes approval for procurement of new pumper and tanker trucks in April 2022 to meet the requirements for Superior Tanker Shuttle Certification and to maintain the fleet replacement schedule, approximately $1.8 million from the Fire Service Fleet Reserve.
Recommendation of the hiring of two full-time firefighters (for Lindsay)in 2023 and 2024, $180,000 each year, to ensure response of four firefighters on scene to deliver timely internal attack/rescue that complies with NFPA guidelines.
A second Training Officer in 2024 to maintain the training required for 400 volunteers and full-time staff to meet legislated certification requirements, $160,000.
Mayor Letham commented at the meeting, “This Council is committed to modernization, with the goal of providing innovative, cost-effective and reliable programs and services. These Reviews and long-term plans are important to help Councils make informed investments and decisions. Our goal is to adopt sustainable operating and capital resourcing that optimizes taxpayer value for money.”
According to MacDonald, The City of Kawartha Lakes is the canary in the coal mine.
“This is a national concern,” warned Todd MacDonald. “The Kawartha Lakes is the canary in the coal mine. The story is not identical, but similar in many communities across the country.”
Watch CTV W5 on Saturday, October 1st at 7 pm for the full national story.
