Parksville Fire Rescue and the Regional District of Nanaimo have renewed an agreement that will see the fire department continue on as the safety provider in case of a confined space emergency.
The RDN has several sites classified as confined spaces at its utilities and wastewater departments, as outlined in WorkSafeBC regulations, and does not have personnel trained for this type of rescue, according to a report by Mike Tisdelle, assistant fire chief.
In the event of a rescue, it is likely the fire department would be requested to attend regardless of whether an agreement is in place, his report to the city noted.
Parksville Fire Rescue members received ongoing training in confined space rescue and provide the service for the City of Parksville's operations department where relevant.
There are several locations within the Parksville fire protection area and others outside of the normal response area, including several locations within the Nanoose Bay fire protection area.
Parksville confirmed with Nanoose Volunteer Fire Department that they do not currently have members trained in confined space rescue and support the agreement.
Parksville council voted unanimously to approve the agreement renewal, which has a service fee of $10,815 with an increase of three percent compounded annually. The funds will offset the ongoing training costs to the Parksville department.
The current five year agreement is set to expire in February 2025 and was renewed with allowances for inflationary service costs for the foreseeable future.