Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services
 | |
| Pride and Honour | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |
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| Address | 2800 Rutherford Rd, Concord, ON L4K 2N9 |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | 1971 |
| Employees | 266 (2013) |
| Commissioner | Andrew Zvanitajs |
| Fire chief | Chief Deryn Rizzi |
| EMS level | ALS and BLS |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 9 |
| Engines | 8 |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Ladders | 5 |
| Squads | 1 |
| Rescues | 1 |
| Ambulances | See York Region EMS |
| HAZMAT | 1 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the city of Vaughan, Ontario. It operates 9 fire stations and coordinates with other fire departments in York Region and the Greater Toronto Area. VFRS responds to a wide variety of emergency calls. As of 2013, there are 266 firefighters on staff; all are full-time. The city did have volunteers in Woodbridge Station 7-3 and Kleinburg Station 7-4. Station 7-3 disbanded it's volunteers in the early 2000s with the remainder of the volunteers being disbanded in 2013 with the closure of Station 7-4 in Kleinburg.
Operations
Operations Division
Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service's biggest division is the Operations Division. The Operations Division is the division that is responsible for responding to emergency calls. VFRS's total average response time to emergencies is six minutes and 19 seconds. The most common emergency call that VFRS responds to are medical calls (36% of calls in 2015 were medical calls),[1] but VFRS also assists the York Regional Police department with calls, especially calls to car accidents. VFRS also responds to a large number of false alarms, with 24% of calls in 2015 being false alarms.[1] VFRS primarily deals with rural scenarios in the north and urban in the south part of the city.
HAZMAT
VFRS's HAZMAT team responds to calls for gas leaks, toxic chemicals, electrical emergencies and carbon monoxide investigations.
Communications
The VFRS Communications Division uses a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to enhance dispatch of fire apparatus to emergencies in Vaughan. The Communications Division works with the York Regional Police 9-1-1 centre, the Georgian Central Ambulance Communications Centre, and the surrounding municipal fire department communications centres in order to coordinate the emergency needs of the community. VFRS is also contracted to provide emergency communications services to Township of King. In 2015, the Communications Division processed 10,428 emergency calls for Vaughan and 1,002 calls for King Township Fire Service, totaling 11,430 calls for the year.[1] All of Vaughan’s fire communicators are certified by the Association of Public Safety Communications Operators (APCO) Institute. The Communication Division's motto is "The Voice of VFRS”.
Mechanical Division
The VFRS Mechanical Division is responsible for ensuring that all of VFRS's apparatus/equipment is in operationally ready state. The Mechanical Division does this using the current Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Standards and National Fire Protection Association guidelines as benchmarks. Members of the Mechanical Division attend Emergency Vehicle Technician courses every year. The VFRS Mechanical Division provides both in-shop and mobile mechanical service for a number of Regional Emergency Service partners as well as a warranty repair depot for major fire service equipment suppliers and manufacturers. The Mechanical Division implemented on board GREEN generators for engines/rescues. When the fire apparatus are at idle for more than three minutes, the engine automatically shuts off and a smaller engine maintains essential systems, lighting and heat/air conditioning as required. This can be useful because upon arriving at an incident, firefighters would not want to waste precious time turning off the engine and lights.
Training Division
VFRS firefighters are required to complete specific annual maintenance training. The firefighters in VFRS are all either certified or working towards their certification. It takes approximately four years to meet the requirements of certification. Once certified, firefighters must continue to meet a number of objectives in order to meet the requirements of re-certification. All of the staff of the VFRS Training Division have either already met or are working towards the requirement as “Certified Training Officers". All of VFRS's firefighters attained certification in NFPA 1006 core competencies for technical rescue. All service delivery enhancements for the public must first be implemented through the Training Division. The Training Division is undertaking the delivery of Ontario Fire College programs in-house.
Fire Prevention Division
The VFRS Fire prevention Division is the division that is responsible for educating the population of Vaughan to take precautions to prevent potentially harmful fires, and be educated about surviving them. The Fire Prevention Division provides inspections and plan reviews for fire/carbon monoxide alarms, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, and general fire hazards. They conduct building inspections to make sure they are compliant with fire codes, and they also visit schools and daycare centers to make presentations about arson, malicious false alarms, and fire safety. VFRS's fire investigation team works with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office and reaches out to inspectors and public educators in Vaughan with regards to fire risks and fire safety. One of the Fire Prevention Division's responsibilities is to educate seniors about fire safety. In addition to their annual inspections and witnessing of fire drills for all retirement homes and care facilities throughout Vaughan, the Fire Prevention Division together with B.A.S.S.I.C. (Bringing an Awareness of Senior Safety Issues to the Community) delivers fire safety education to approximately 700 attendees at B.A.S.S.I.C.'s annual senior’s symposium.
Stations
- Station 7-1 - 835 Clark Avenue West (west of Bathurst Street)
- Station 7-2 - 9290 Keele Street (north of Rutherford Road)
- Station 7-3 - 7690 Martin Grove Rd (South of Highway 7)
- Station 7-5 - 2 Fieldstone Avenue (west from Weston Road, North of Highway 7)
- Station 7-6 - 120 McLeary Court (east from Creditstone, north of Highway 7 on the north side of the cul-de-sac)
- Station 7-7 - 40 Eagleview Heights (Major Mackenzie Drive West & Highway 400)
- Station 7-8 - 111 Racco Parkway (Dufferin Street & Highway 407)
- Station 7-9 - 9601 Islington Avenue (Islington Avenue / North of Rutherford Road)
- Station 7-10 - 10800 Dufferin Street (Dufferin Street / North of Teston Road)[2]
List of apparatus
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STATION 7-1 - 835 Clark Ave (Thornhill)
- 711 - 2011 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Smeal engine
- 716 - 2000 Spartan Gladiator / Smeal 105' quint
STATION 7-2 - 9290 Keele St (Maple)
- 726 - 2010 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Smeal 55' quint
- 729 - 2014 Spartan Metro Star / SVI heavy rescue (ex-demo)
- 720 - Pickup Truck
- Chief 7-4 - Platoon Chief
STATION 7-3 - 325 Woodbridge Ave (Woodbridge)
- 731 - 2014 Spartan Metro Star / Smeal engine-rescue
- 737 - 2009 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Smeal 100' mid-mount platform quint
- 738 - 1991 International 4900 Dependable Hazmat Truck (Staffed as Required)
STATION 7-5 - 2 Fieldstone Ave (Woodbridge)
- 756 - 2011 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Smeal 55' quint
- 758 - 2005 Freightliner M2 / Dependable technical rescue (ex-759)
- 759 - 2014 Spartan Metro Star / Smeal engine-rescue
STATION 7-6 - 120 McLeary Ct (Concord)
- 766 - 2006 Spartan Advantage / Smeal 55' quint (ex-796)
STATION 7-7 - 40 Eagleview Heights (Vellore)
- 771 - 2006 Spartan Advantage / Smeal engine
- 774 - 2004 Peterbilt 330 / Danko tanker
STATION 7-8 - Racco Pkwy (Concord)
- 786 - 2003 Spartan Advantage / Smeal 55' quint
STATION 7-9 - 9601 Islington Ave (Kleinburg)
- 791 - 2006 Spartan Advantage / Smeal engine (ex-761)
STATION 7-10 - 10800 Dufferin St (Maple)
- 710-1 - 2011 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Smeal engine
- 701
Spare
- 2009 Spartan Gladiator Classic / Dependable heavy rescue (ex-729)
- 2006 Spartan Advantage / Smeal engine (ex-731)
- 2002 Spartan Advantage / Smeal engine
- 2002 Spartan Advantage / Smeal engine
- 2000 Spartan Advantage / Smeal 55' quint (ex-726)
- 2000 Spartan Advantage / Smeal 55' quint (ex-756)
- 1998 Spartan Gladiator / Smeal 55' quint (ex-776, ex-756)
- Field Support / Rehab - 2005 Freightliner MT REHAB (Volunteer Staffed @ Joint Operations Centre)
Fire Prevention
- SMART Car
- 79XX - Dodge RAM pickup
- 78XX - Chevrolet HHR
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service 2015 Annual Report
- ↑ "Operations". vaughan.ca. City of Vaughan. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
