HRFE and Enfield Volunteer Fire Department Agreement

HRFE and Enfield Volunteer Fire Department Agreement

Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (HRFE) and the Enfield Volunteer Fire Department (EVFD) are currently negotiating an agreement between our respective fire services to work together and provide emergency services to our communities. This negotiation has prompted conversation and questions from residents.  

What is happening right now?
Our respective fire chiefs continue to negotiate towards a renewed agreement. The parties agreed that there would be no changes made to emergency response or to the dispatch services provided by HRM to EVFD during this negotiation. The computer dispatch system which alerts fire crews to emergencies has not been altered. 

How did we get here?
The current agreement between the two services was established in 2004. It included an exchange of services and funds. HRFE received assistance from Enfield to provide emergency response to a portion of District 1 (Waverley – Fall River – Musquodoboit Valley) north of the Halifax International Airport and to respond with a ladder truck to the airport, adjacent hotels and industrial park. Consistent with best practices, this agreement included a provision for an annual review and adjustment.  

Following a thorough service review and a new Administrative Order (2018-OPS-006) and Emergency Response Time Targets (ERTT) set by Council, HRFE added a crew of 4 fulltime firefighters 24/7 to Fire Station 45 (Fall River) to work alongside our volunteers commencing January 2021.  A firefighting ladder truck was also added to that station to address the airport risk. The newly increased firefighting capability in this district has reduced our dependency on EVFD to provide support to the area around the airport. In June 2020 HRFE advised EVFD of the intention to withdraw from the current agreement and negotiate a new one. A joint statement from the HRFE and EVFD chiefs was issued on Jan. 5, 2021 regarding the ongoing negotiations and provided reassurance to residents that no changes to emergency response would be made until the negotiations had concluded.   

It is a normal industry practice not only to develop mutual aid agreements but to review and revise them when service needs change. HRFE has many other mutual aid agreements in place along our borders that are in various stages of review and updating. “Mutual Aid” agreements allow each department to come to the aid of the other when requested for emergency response.

What happens next?
Both fire chiefs continue to discuss a renewed agreement.  Public safety and emergency response continue to be a priority of both departments, and we are continuing to explore options to reach an agreement.  There has been no change to the level of service impacting the residents of the municipality while these negotiations are ongoing. As negotiations continue, HRFE will update residents with new information as it becomes available.

What did this agreement provide?
HRFE provided emergency dispatching services to Enfield for all emergency incidents in their area of service.  Additionally, HRFE provided quarterly payments to EVFD to respond to the airport, adjacent hotels and industrial park with an elevated master stream or ladder truck to address potential response risks for this area. 

Enfield provided automatic fire response to an area of the municipality north of the airport (known as the “Enfield Fire Protection District”), meaning that EVFD was dispatched to fires to assist HRFE response. In addition, for calls not requiring a full firefighting response such as investigations or medical calls, EVFD responded. The below map highlights the Enfield Fire Protection District. 

What level of fire protection should we expect?
In December 2018 Halifax Regional Council reviewed and approved desired service levels for HRFE called “Emergency Response Time Targets” (ERTT). For fire response districts with a population of less than 100 people per square kilometre served by volunteer firefighters, this target includes how long it should take the first fire truck to arrive, as follows:

The ERTT for the first in unit is 17.5 minutes for structure fires (from a volunteer station) should be achieved 90% of the time.

HRFE firefighters responding to the area outlined in the map above will respond from fire stations 42 (Wellington), 43 (Grand Lake), 45 (Fall River), 47 (Goffs) and beyond if required. 

As an example, HRFE travel times generated from our GIS data mapping for an emergency in the vicinity of the intersection of Oldham Road and Old Post Road:

In addition to the travel time, considerations need to be made for additional call processing times outlined in Council’s ERTT outlined below:

Accounting for 90 seconds for dispatch time for all stations, 6 minutes for turnout for volunteer stations and 90 seconds for turnout for career stations combined with travel time:

Travel times generated by GIS data mapping for an emergency in the vicinity of the intersection of Springreen Drive and Ladyslipper Crescent for HRFE:

Additional times for consideration include 90 seconds for dispatch time for all stations, 6 minutes for turnout for volunteer stations and 90 seconds for turnout for career stations combined with travel time:

All of these response times above achieve Council’s Emergency Response Time Target.

Additionally, HRFE has 51 stations with over 110 heavy firefighting apparatus and over 1000 career and volunteer firefighters that can be deployed to support as required.  As well residents should be assured that HRFE is the largest fire service in Eastern Canada and offers many specialty rescues and services that can respond 24/7.