Fire Chief’s comments put lives at risk
TORONTO – Remarks attributed to Niagara Falls Fire Chief Pat Burke put people’s lives at risk but do nothing to resolve the crisis in ambulance dispatch, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says.
“Telling members of the public to ask for the fire department when they have a medical emergency is nothing less than reckless,” OPSEU President Leah Casselman said of the comments attributed to Burke in the Niagara Falls Review. “We call on the Chief to withdraw the remarks.”
Casselman said problems at the Hamilton Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) have been well-documented and solutions to those problems are well-known.
“The October 2001 report by the IBI group made it clear that the Hamilton CACC is hemorrhaging experienced dispatchers because call volumes are too high and the wages are too low,” she said. “Staff at ambulance dispatch centres make up to $20,000 less a year than their counterparts in lower-stress jobs at neighbouring fire and police dispatch
services. Is it any wonder that they’re leaving?”
The union, which represents 300 staff at 11 ambulance dispatch centres around Ontario, has repeatedly called on the Ontario government to raise wages for the group so the CACCs can hire and retain staff.
“The workload of ambulance dispatchers is much more complex than that of a fire or police dispatcher,” Casselman said. “It makes no sense that the people with the most expertise and the toughest jobs are also the lowest paid.”
“This province is blessed with highly-trained, dedicated dispatchers,” she said. “The people work, but unfortunately the system doesn’t. I can’t understand why the provincial government doesn’t fix it now, when people like Bart Maves are up for re-election in a few months.”
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For more information:
Megan Park (416) 443-8888 ext. 207
Patrick Fry-Smith (905) 923-2911
