The City of Kamloops says the Westside fire station will be fully staffed with firefighters early next month.
Ten new firefighters have completed their training and will be working at Station 4, effective Aug. 1.
Kamloops Fire Rescue operates a mixed fire service model with both career and paid on-call firefighting staff, says a release.
Paid on-call firefighters support the services provided by career firefighters to prevent loss of life and property, including responding to fires and emergencies, routine apparatus maintenance and weekly training.
Of the seven fire stations in Kamloops, four are fully staffed with career firefighters, two stations are staffed with paid on-call firefighters, and one station (Westsyde) has been operating as a combination of both since the addition of two career firefighters to what began as a fully paid on-call station.
According to the city, Station 4’s combination model has been maintained for decades to supplement the limited capacity of the partially staffed career unit, but demand has exceeded the model’s capacity to service the community effectively.
Over the past few years, Station 4 has experienced an increase in call volumes, increased requirements related to firefighting from training and health and safety perspectives, and a reduction in the ability of the paid on-call staff to respond to calls, a release explains.
To address these challenges, Kamloops Fire Rescue prepared a supplemental budget request to fund the 10 new firefighters in order to fully staff Station 4 with career firefighters.
Council approved this request as part of the 2023 budget process.
The paid on-call complement staff at Station 4 have been offered the opportunity to remain in service through Station 5 in Rayleigh.
“We acknowledge the dedication and hard work that our Station 4 on-call members have provided in the Westsyde community,” said chief Ken Uzeloc, Kamloops Fire Rescue.
“This was a difficult decision to make knowing the decades of commitment from our members; however, we know this decision will be a major service increase to the community.
