MAY 1995

Ft:RE. ACA.D EM.Y

New Campus for the JI

On May 5 JI staff said farewell to offices on West 4th & 8th Avenues in
Vancouver. Moving vans were a common
site around the New Westminster site
on May 6 -7. By Monday morning, May
8, everything and everyone was "technically in place" at the new Campus.
Academy staff survived the move and
recouped fairly quickly. It was down to
unpacking, hooking up computers and
setting up offices. A few boxes remain

to be unpacked and there are still some
unorganized areas in the Academy offices on the 3rd floor at 715 McBride
Boulevard. For the first week, staff
walked around workers, busy gluing tile
flooring in place; hiked up three flights
of stairs as workers struggled to get the
elevators operational.
"Where's the coffee?," was one of the
first questions staff wanted answered.
The caterer responsible for providing us

with good nourishment, Corporate Classic Caterers, rose to the challenge of an
unfinished cafeteria by providing
barbeques on the patio each noon hour,
as well as enticing goodies and lots of
coffee for breaks. The cafeteria should
be in full swing by the time this is in print.
The official opening for the JI campus is planned for June 23 with Open
House for the public on June 24-25. For
more details call Michelle (528-5657).

STAFF NEWS

EQU/VALENCY

Volunteer Fire Fighter Training Standard and the new
BC Fire Fighter Training Standard
New Staff
Staff at the Academy and members of
the FSAC Standards Committee have received a lot of questions in regard to the
impact of the new BC Fire Fighter
Training Standard and the existing Volunteer Fire Fighter Training Standard.
This concern was recognized by the
FSAC Standards Committee at the initial meeting in May 1993. The Committee agreed to fully support equivalency
status for subjects successfully completed in the Volunteer Fire FighterTraining Standard. For example, if a fire
fighter has successfully completed the
section on SCBA or Ventilation under the
Volunteer Certification Program, the individual would be recognized as having
completed the same sections of the new
BC Standard.

The FSAC Standards and Curriculum
Committee is in the process of reviewing existing curriculum such as IFSTA
Essentials of Fire Fighting along with
other training programs which may meet
the curriculum needs for the new BC
Standard. This review will also include
existing materials developed by the
Academy.
People presently enrolled and active
in the Volunteer Certification program
should continue until all aspects of the
new program are in place and a new certificate program has been implemented.
The que_stion of certification under the
new standard and certification equivalencies is before the FSAC Certification
sub- committee. This should not be confused with subject equivalency as identified above.

Jane Garapickcame to theAcademy
May 8 as Secretary to the Standards
Committee. Deborah Idiens, previously
in this job, has taken a leave to travel with
her husband on his work assignment to
Thailand. We are all envious of Deborah's travels, but will welcome her
back early next year.
Jane lives in New Westminster, and
has a strong background in computers.
One of her first duties was to attend a
meeting of the Standards Committee in
Victoria. She said the committee members and the Academy staff made her feel
very welcome and made her transition
period as a new employee very smooth.

EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATION

Legal Issues
By Al Lund, Director
Pacific Traffic Education Centre PTEC

Don't Put Your Department
at Risk!
D Do your tire fighters have a clear
understanding of the law as it relates to operating emergency tire
vehicles?

D Is your Department Policy adequate?

D Are your tire vehicles equipped
with adequate emergency equipment?

2

If you are in doubt in any of these areas contact: Al Lund, Director, PTEC at
then.
Al is accepted as an expert witness in
court and provides expert testimony on
Driver Behaviour and Emergency Vehicle Operation. Al has made numerous
presentations at conferences and Fire
Departments concerning legal issues as
related to Emergency Vehicle Operations.
Ensure your department is up to date
and informed. Contact Al to reserve a
date for a legal issue presentation.

A 2-3 hour presentation is $400 plus
travel expenses, if outside the Lower
Mainland. There is no limit to the number of fire fighters in attendance at these
sessions.
These presentations are conducted in
cooperation with the Academy. Al Lun,d,
Director of PTEC will be a regular contributor to this newsletter. Any questions
related to legal issues or can be sent directly to Al at the JI or by phone at 5285805.

THE FIRE ACADEMY NEWS

Dedication
of Live Fire
Training
Building
The JI's new Live Fire Training
Building at Maple Ridge will be officially dedicated in a ceremony attended by various government officials, dignitaries and community
representatives June 19. Minister of
MunicipalAffairs Honourable Darlene Marzari will officiate at the
opening.
The $1.5 million structUre has
been well-utilized already in the instruction of 24 recruits in a nineweek intensive training program.

MAY 1995

Directors' Award
The Director's Award for 1994 was presented to Fred Hubbick on
June 1 at the Training Officers' banquet in Castlegar. This award is
presented to individuals inside or outside the fire service who have
contributed greatly to training of the fire service.
Fred joined the Delta Fire Dept. on April 16, 1968. He was promoted to Assistant Chief responsible for training on July 4, 1983. While
serving his department in this capacity he became involved in the Training Officers' Association. Fred rose through the ranks to become President of the Association.
As President, and indeed, in his overall involvement with the Association, Fred has been upbeat, progressive and extremely encouraging
to all trainers. His positive outlook and encouragement has been contagious to everyone he comes in contact with.
Congratulations Fred. Thanks for a job well done!

3

1994-95 Fire Academy Fiscal Report
The Academy finished the 94/95 fiscal year with a total of 42,915 student
training days, a 5.99% increase over the
previous year. The cost of this training
totalled $2,072,561. Revenues totaled
$2,077,776.
A major portion of this training was
identified and funded through the Office
of the Fire Commissioner. Funds provided by the Fire Commissioner totalled
$945,000. Of this amount $309,522 was
allocated to the certification program,
$205,101 to hands-on blocks, $97,000to
field training, $82, 779 to the Fire &
Safety Training Centre, $84,453 to standards development, $152,895 to administration and $13,250 to library services.
In the certification programs, 14,842
examinations were generated, meeting
all examination requests. Of those generated, 13,254 were marked. Hands on
training in the Distance Education program was provided for 36 individuals as
requested in the Company and Command
Officer Programs. Twenty nine individuals received training in T0-2, one less

than requested, due to a last minute cancellation.
In the field program 1,232 student
training days were delivered with all requests being met. 1,315 student training
days were allowed for.
Administration costs of the Academy
totalled $257,117 which was 12.3% of
the overall Academy expenditures.
Other training provided was the recertification of 97 Volunteer Certification
Program Evaluators along with a one
week training program for Office of the
Fire Commissioner staff.
Additional funds were received from
the Ministry of Skills, Training and Labor and also through tuitj.on-based programs. These funds totalled $1,063,348
for which a wide variety of training programs were conducted. These included
Marine, Industrial, Hazardous Materials,
Live Fire, Auto Extrication, Driver Training, Incident Command, Passport Accountability, RecruitTraining, conducted
in various locations of the Province.

'95 Recruit Class
Graduates
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FIRE ACADEMY

NEWS
The Fire Academy News is published by the Fire Academy, Justice
Institute of British Columbia, 715
McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5T4. Telephone
528-5657, fax 528-5660.
Newsletter staff:
Paul Smith, Publisher
Anne Langdon, Editor

4

Graduation ceremonies will be held
at the new Il Campus on June 10 for the
present Recruit Fire Fighter class. The
class of 24 recruits began the 9 week
course at the Maple Ridge training site
in April. Successful candidates will be
working with Delta, Richmond and Surrey fire departments after completing the
intensive training.

Contributions
to the
newsletter
are welcome
Please direct all material to Anne
Langdon, fax 528-5660.

TRAINING

Course Schedule
Details including dates of coming
courses will be sent out in a separate
mailing to all departments.

FSAC Standards
Committee update
The FSAC met May 17 in Victoria.
On recommendation of the Fire Safety
Advisory Council and pursuant to the
Fire Services Act, Fire Commissioner
Rick Dumala has announced approval of
the BC Fire Fighter Standard, January
1995 edition.A copy of the Standard has
been sent out to all Fire Depts. in the
Province. Further copies are available
fr~nn Jane at theAcademy (528-5668) or
the Fire Commissioner's office.

Exam Committee
Recommends
The Academy requested assistance
from the fire service in ways to improve
the administration of the examination
system. A committee of six individuals
was formed to review the system and
bring forth recommendations. Representatives are Chief Andy Hutchins, Fire
Chiefs; Rick Stark, Volunteer Fire Fighters; and Chief Larry Hooge,Training Officers.
Program Director Sandra Enns, Systems Analyst Chris Reyes and Exam
Clerk Sheila Morissette from the Academy were also on the committee.
After several meetings the committee
brought forth recommendations for review by the Director and the Fire Commissioner. A copy of the recommendations including comments formed after
the review by the Director and the Commissioner are enclosed with this newsletter.
THE FIRE ACADEMY NEWS