Nanaimo Fire Rescue will now be dispatched from Surrey as part of a cost-saving measure by the RDN and City of Nanaimo. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

RESCUE 911

City, RDN to outsource first responder dispatch as cost-cutting measure

Nov 20, 2020 | 5:27 AM

NANAIMO — The City and RDN believe they can save $3.5 million over five years by shipping out Nanaimo Fire Rescue calls for help to the Lower Mainland.

Beginning in June 2021, City of Surrey personnel will answer all 911 calls in which fire crews are requested to respond in the southern portion of the Regional District of Nanaimo, including Nanaimo Fire Rescue.

Catherine Morrison, RDN manager for emergency services, told NanaimoNewsNOW dispatchers in Surrey are better equipped to handle higher call volume and emergencies than local dispatchers are.

“With limited resources and a smaller dispatch centre, they’re quickly overwhelmed. Typically there’s two dispatchers on at any given time, one to assist with dispatch operations and one to take incoming calls.”

Morrison said Surrey’s fire dispatch is staffed with between two and five people at any given time with additional resources available in the event of a large scale emergency.

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Surrey already operates fire dispatch services for over 40 agencies across B.C., fielding over 80,000 calls annually.

Local officials will supply all their existing mapping files to the City of Surrey, including local references and landmarks to aid in dispatching to remote and rural areas for someone unfamiliar with local geography.

“Nanaimo River, if they’re at a certain known swimming hole, that piece of information is able to be loaded into the computer-aided dispatch system to assist the dispatcher in providing a location.”

The mapping data provided includes detailed property information from the RDN along with BC Assessment data and is a significant step up over publically available maps through provides like Google.

“The CAD system currently used at Nanaimo Fire Comm will also be transferred… so any information uploaded over the last 25 years will be uploaded.”

The new system is also compatible with CRTC mandates to move towards next generation 9-1-1 services, enabling dispatchers to pull a location from a caller’s cell phone.

Radio and other infrastructure will continue to be maintained in Nanaimo and eventually transferred to the new fire hall when it opens in 2022.

Eight full time and four part time unionized staff currently operate the dispatch system in Nanaimo.

Space originally designated for a dispatch centre in the fire hall will be re-purposed into training and meeting space.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief Karen Fry told NanaimoNewsNOW the city is working through transition plans for the staff affected and will do all they can to minimize the impact.

The shift will affect residents in the regional district from Lantzville, south, including Nanaimo, Cedar, South Wellington, Cassidy and Gabriola Island.

Communities of Nanoose Bay northward fall under North Island 9-1-1, operated out of Campbell River.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW