The Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) has evolved from its traditional functions of fire suppression and fire prevention. Following a structural re-organization, BFES is now comprised of the following divisions: Fire Suppression; Fire Prevention including Public Education; Training; Communications and Administration.
The Fire Suppression Division responds to more than fire alarm calls. Other specialized response includes auto extrication and rescue, technical rope rescue, trench and confined space rescue, medical calls including defibrillation, ambulance support, hazardous materials response, ice/water rescue and Marine 1 the BFES boat designed for travel on water and ice for rescue in all types of inclement weather on Lake Simcoe. In addition to emergency responses the Fire Suppression Division firefighters constantly train to maintain existing or new skill sets, develop pre-incident surveys including pre-planning buildings in the city, maintain emergency equipment in a constant state of readiness and attend special community events to promote public education initiatives.
The Training Division coordinates and delivers all training and staff development needs within the department. A recent re-organization of the division will place one Training Officer on shift within each of the four platoons. These on-shift Training Officers will also be trained as Incident Safety Officers to assist the Platoon-Chief with the on-scene safety of the firefighters and monitor the development of potential hazards. This type of training delivery model is a first in the fire service of Ontario. The BFES Training Division is recognized by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office and the Ontario Fire College for its commitment to ongoing training and the expedient adoption of improved training methods. Barrie firefighters are among the first group to achieve Provincial Certification in 2001.
The Fire Prevention Division enforces the Ontario Fire Code for all occupied buildings such as apartments, short and long term care facilities, commercial and industrial sites, schools and office buildings. Within the scope of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, fire prevention activities and public education have gained a high profile within the Ontario fire Service. We have created and delivered many specialized public education programs to our community. Some of our programs are the SOS or Save Our Seniors delivers fire safety information to our most vulnerable citizens; the Fire Safety School program delivered fire safety information to 20,000 elementary students in 2008; the Arson Prevention Program for Children or TAPP-C to assist families acquire help for juvenile fire setters; and our Smoke Alarm program ensures a working smoke alarm in any residence visited by the fire department. We have also developed an educational partnership with Georgian College that serves our community well.
The Communications Division manages and operates a 24-hour communications dispatch centre delivering service to the Barrie Fire and Emergency Services plus contract dispatch service to eleven area fire departments in Simcoe County. This professional, efficient and technologically advanced division is the heart of emergency fire dispatch for 44 fire halls and over 900 firefighters. The division’s complement of staff is 8 full-time communication operators, 3 part-time, 2 full-time Supervisors and one Manager managing over 12,000 fire calls in 2008 and 74,000 non-emergency calls.
The Administration Division is comprised of an Office Coordinator, a Payroll-Administrative Assistant and two people who have the title of Clerk-Secretary. This small group of people is responsible for invoicing, payroll, records keeping, ordering of supplies and a myriad of other functions to keep the fire department functional and organized. Our small administration group is very important to our day to day operation.
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