Service des incendies Hawkesbury Fire Department. Tél.: (613) / Fax : (613) March 13 th, 2015

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1 Service des incendies Hawkesbury Fire Department 780, avenue Spence Avenue, Hawkesbury, Ontario K6A 3H9 Tél.: (613) / Fax : (613) Ce document a également été traduit en français. March 13 th, 2015 Mrs. Mary McCuaig Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk THE NATION MUNICIPALITY 958 Route 500 West Casselman, Ontario K0B 1M0 Dear Mrs. McCuaig: RE: Fire Dispatch Agreement I am writing to you about the fire dispatch service provided by the Town of Hawkesbury to The Nation Municipality. To begin with, I want to thank you on behalf of the Town of Hawkesbury for your continued support. The purpose of this letter is to follow up on the findings of the supplementary report dated January 28 th, 2015 from Peter Gamble, consultant for WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company. A copy of the supplementary report is attached for your review and consideration. As you know, the current costs agreement for the fire dispatch service between the Town of Hawkesbury and The Nation Municipality expires February 29 th, We ask you to kindly take note of this letter and specifically the fee schedule proposed above for the years 2016 to 2019 and to confirm by June 1 st, 2015 if you intend to continue your contractual relationship with the Town of Hawkesbury and its fire dispatch service. Background In its initial report, WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company made a comparison between the services offered by the City of Ottawa and those offered by the Town of Hawkesbury. WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company had identified various possible options, including, among others, the transfer of fire dispatch services from one city to another. Although he stressed the fact that there would be costs associated with such a transfer, they had not been accounted for. The United Counties of Prescott and Russell so instructed the Fire Dispatch Agreement March 13 th, 2015, Page 1 of 4

2 consultant to continue the study to include the costs and expenses associated with the various options. The appended supplementary report outlines the findings of WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company. WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company mentions in its supplementary report that the services offered by the two cities (Hawkesbury and Ottawa) meet the standards of the industry. Although he concludes that the service offered by the City of Ottawa is more economical, we believe that this conclusion does not account for all costs associated with providing the service or the costs for additional services which will no longer be available. We believe that the Town of Hawkesbury is a service provider offering competitive rates. We strongly recommend that you carry out a comprehensive study of all costs and expenses for The Nation Municipality prior to a change of supplier, if need be. The fire dispatch service provided by the Town of Hawkesbury offers a professional and accessible service to citizens, chiefs and agents with whom we work. The customer satisfaction level is exceptional. When we receive a complaint from our clients, it is quickly processed efficiently and expeditiously. We offer a bilingual service and are proud that our fire dispatch service contributes to the employability of bilingual people in the Prescott and Russell region. Our employees are residents of Champlain, of East Hawkesbury, of Russell and of Hawkesbury. Service Charge Increase The Town of Hawkesbury is keen to maintain its fire dispatch service and its relationship with municipalities. This is a service we have been offering to surrounding municipalities for over twelve years. Given the significant costs to provide this service to municipalities and to maintain the delivery of this service, the Town of Hawkesbury must have cost-effective operations. To achieve this, the Town must recover 75% of its operating costs in To do this, we offer below a cost projection for services provided to your municipality for the years 2016 to To maximize the value of the service, we strongly suggest you take advantage of the additional services provided without charge that may be included in your agreement, including receiving calls outside of office hours for by-law officers, water and sewer services, public works and alarm monitoring for your municipal buildings. These services are part of the range of services offered by the Town of Hawkesbury in addition to bilingual fire dispatch services. In addition to substantial savings, we believe that the range of services offered will ensure a quality service to your citizens. Fire Dispatch Agreement March 13 th, 2015, Page 2 of 4

3 The formula used by the Town of Hawkesbury to determine the costs of dispatch service has always taken into account three (3) elements: (1) the population; (2) the number of emergency calls; and (3) the number of fire stations. The calculations below for The Nation Municipality are obtained from the 2011 StatsCan statistics and the Crisys database for the population and the number of calls. The significant recent increase in the population and therefore in the number of calls and incidents in The Nation Municipality, along with the cost recovery objective of the Town of Hawkesbury, explain the increase in the cost of the service for your municipality. Below you will find the proposed fee schedule for our services for the years 2016 to The costs in 2015 are part of the last instalment of the 8% increase in 2012 presented for the years The Nation Actual Costs 2015 $52, $58, $59, $59, $61, Population + 1,069, incidents + 77, fire stations status quo $238, We encourage you to review the 2014 Fire Dispatch Committee presentation which was presented at our last meeting (copy attached) and to turn your attention particularly to all the additional services we offer at no extra cost as listed above. It is important that all municipalities make a clear and well-informed decision as far as their service provider is concerned. That is why we invite you to a fire dispatch committee meeting on Thursday, April 16 th, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Following this meeting, we ask you to confirm your intention to continue your contractual relationship with the Town of Hawkesbury for the delivery of fire dispatch service, and this, by June 1 st, As well, if you decide to use another service provider, we ask that you notify us of the transfer date. If you wish, we would be happy to make a presentation to all members of your Municipal Council in order to present our services and the proposed agreement with more details. Fire Dispatch Agreement March 13 th, 2015, Page 3 of 4

4 In the hope of a favorable answer, please accept, Mrs. McCuaig, the expression of our best regards. Ghislain Pigeon Fire Chief GP/aa Enclosures: 2014 Fire Dispatch Committee presentation Supplementary report from WILLOW FALLS CONSULTING company \My Documents\Dispatch\Nation\Lettre - Dispatch 2015 NA ang.doc Fire Dispatch Agreement March 13 th, 2015, Page 4 of 4

5 United Counties of Prescott and Russell Fire Dispatch Feasibility Analysis ADDENDUM Prepared By: Peter Gamble Date: Version: 1.1

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7 Table of Contents 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION ANALYSIS COSTS CENTRAL PAGING & VOICE ADMINISTRATOR IMPACTS OF LEAVING HAWKESBURY FIRE DISPATCH FIRE COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING REVIEW OF KEY POINTS LANGUAGE FIRE DISPATCH COMPARISON MUNICIPALITES INCLUDED NON FIRE DISPATCH SERVICES PAGING & RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS CAPITAL & EXPENSE Expense Capital HARD & SOFT COSTS DISPATCH PROVIDER COSTS Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch Ottawa Fire Dispatch COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS COST ANALYSIS Five Options OPTION SUMMARY Savings or Increased Cost Detailed Cost Option Table MAKING A DECISION OPTION 1 Status Quo Page i

8 3.6.2 OPTION 2 Everyone Dispatched By Ottawa Fire OPTION 3 Clarence Rockland Switches To Hawkesbury OPTION 4 One Municipality Leaves OPTION 5 North Stormont & North Glengarry PAGING & RADIO COMMUNICATIONS OVERVIEW SYSTEM LIMITATIONS Single Point of Failure Single Channel Emergency Alert Audio Recording ONTARIO FIRE MARSHALL RECOMMENDATIONS Three Key Recommendations; Specific Incidents SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR RADIO FREQUENCIES L Original VANKLEEK HILL NORTH GLENGARRY & NORTH STORMONT Page ii

9 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the report presented to Council on August 13, 2014, the costs items associated with switching to Ottawa Fire Dispatch were identified, but there were no dollar values for these items. Council requested that the report be updated to include the total capital and expense cost per Municipality. This addendum provides the cost information and other activities that must take place as part of a change for Fire Dispatch. 1.1 RECOMMENDATION This report does not provide a recommendation on whether the Municipalities in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, as well as North Glengarry and North Stormont should procure their Fire Dispatch service from Hawkesbury Fire or Ottawa Fire. The decision on what provides the best option for all the Municipalities, must be made by the Municipalities. 1.2 ANALYSIS There are really only two viable options for the Municipalities who are currently getting Fire Dispatch services from Hawkesbury Fire; 1. All Municipalities stay with Hawkesbury Fire, 2. All Municipalities switch to Ottawa Fire, If one or more Municipalities decides to switch from Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch to Ottawa Fire Dispatch, the costs for the remaining Municipalities will increase, causing the remaining Municipalities to also change Fire Dispatch service providers. The proposal for Clarence Rockland to switch from Ottawa to Hawkesbury for Fire Dispatch services is not really an option. Clarence Rockland has not expressed any desire to change their Fire Dispatch service provider and switching will cost Clarence Rockland an additional $52,000. Page 3

10 1.3 COSTS For the purpose of this study, the costs for Fire Dispatch service for both Hawkesbury and Ottawa are shown as a yearly per capita cost, for a 5 year period. The per capita cost is only for the core Fire Dispatch service. There are other costs that are not included in this report, for services provided by Hawkesbury Fire, that are not part of the core Fire Dispatch service; Paging and Voice system administration and licensing Changes to the paging and voice system to separate from Hawkesbury Fire department time to transition to a new Fire Dispatch service provider Other services like off hours call answer and EOC callouts 1.4 CENTRAL PAGING & VOICE ADMINISTRATOR The radio paging and voice communications infrastructure needs a system administrator, responsible for coordinating repairs and yearly performance checks, as well as yearly radio license renewal. The most effective solution is to transfer ownership and responsibility for the paging and voice infrastructure to the County. The County would be responsible for all costs, arranging repairs, yearly license renewals and for coordinating any future modifications of the paging and voice communications infrastructure. This function is currently provided by Hawkesbury Fire. 1.5 IMPACTS OF LEAVING HAWKESBURY FIRE DISPATCH Hawkesbury Fire currently provides several services and equipment sharing to the other Municipalities dispatched by Hawkesbury Fire. For this report, it is assumed that Hawkesbury Fire will cease to provide these if Fire Dispatch service is moved to Ottawa. The services and equipment sharing provided by Hawkesbury Fire includes; 1. Use of Hawkesbury Fire radio site to provide voice and paging to L Original. 2. Use of Hawkesbury Fire repeater output frequency at Vankleek Hill for Vankleek Hill and East Hawkesbury paging and voice communications. 3. Use of Hawkesbury repeater output frequency for North Glengarry and North Stormont. (Would need to be confirmed with Industry Canada) 4. Yearly radio frequency licensing for radio sites in other Municipalities. Page 4

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12 1.6 FIRE COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING The Fire Departments must take responsibility for their radio communications capabilities, and assign it an appropriate level of importance and effort. From the interviews with Fire Chiefs, it appears there is a lack of understanding of the paging and voice communications system, its limitations, options for change and the direction it should take to meet future requirements. The first step would be creation of a Fire Communications Committee, tasked with building a Fire Communications Plan. This will take time and it will require a lot of information gathering and review. There are Fire Departments in other Counties such as Leeds and Grenville, who have already been through this process and would be happy to share their experiences. Page 6

13 2 REVIEW OF KEY POINTS 2.1 LANGUAGE 1) 911 calls for Fire are answered in English and French at both Hawkesbury and Ottawa Fire Dispatch centres. 2) Radio communications between Fire Dispatchers and Fire Fighters, is bilingual at Hawkesbury Dispatch and unilingual English at Ottawa Dispatch. 3) The language skills in the Fire Services across the Unite Counties of Prescott and Russell varies with some Fire Fighters speaking only English, some speaking only French and some having varying degrees of bilingualism. 2.2 FIRE DISPATCH COMPARISON As part of the report, Fire Dispatch requirements were documented, using input from each of the Municipal Fire Departments. Both Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch and Ottawa Fire Dispatch were assessed based on the requirements and both Dispatch centres meet the Fire Dispatch requirements. 2.3 MUNICIPALITES INCLUDED Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch Clients; 1) Russell Township 2) Village of Casselman 3) The Nation Municipality 4) Town of Hawkesbury 5) Township of Champlain 6) Township of Alfred and Plantagenet 7) Township of East Hawkesbury 8) Township of North Glengarry 9) Township of North Stormont Ottawa Fire Dispatch Clients; 1) City of Clarence Rockland Page 7

14 2.4 NON FIRE DISPATCH SERVICES There are several services provided by Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch, that are not part of the Fire Dispatch service. Providing other services beyond the Fire Dispatch service is a local decision based on historical operation, resources available and partner relationships. Ottawa Fire Dispatch does not provide these services, which includes; Off hours public works call answer, Administration and maintenance coordination of the paging and radio communications infrastructure, Municipal emergency callouts. 2.5 PAGING & RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE There are three (3) radio systems used for Fire Dispatch paging and voice communications across the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, plus North Glengarry and North Stormont. 1) The paging and radio communications system used to dispatch the majority of the Municipal Fire Departments, is a single channel, shared system that serves twenty three (23) fire stations, spread across eight (8) Municipalities. 2) The Town of Hawkesbury Fire Department radio site is used for paging and voice communications for Hawkesbury Fire and L Original Fire Departments. 3) The City of Clarence-Rockland has its own radio system, which is used for voice communications with Ottawa Fire Dispatch and paging. Based on age, capabilities and design limitations, planning for the replacement of all the paging and radio communications infrastructure needs to start immediately. The planning process will take several years, and involves multiple steps, so the existing equipment will be over 20 years old when it is retired. While there will eventually be a requirement to fund a new radio system, there are several steps that must take place before the costs are well understood and a funding commitment is required. Requirements gathering and planning will help define what is truly required and what that will cost. Page 8

15 3 COSTS 3.1 CAPITAL & EXPENSE There are both capital and expense costs associated with changing Fire Dispatch service providers Expense Dispatch service fee This is the yearly fee per capita which pays for the systems and staff in the dispatch centre to provide the dispatch service. Leased radio site space and/or telecom links This is an ongoing lease cost to connect the dispatch centre to the radio and paging infrastructure. This is required when the dispatch centre is not located close enough to connect directly by radio. Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch uses direct radio connection, while Ottawa Fire Dispatch will require leased connections Capital Map Data and Response Criteria This includes implementation of County map data and Fire Department response boundaries in the Fire CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch). This builds the maps in the CAD system and defines which fire stations and fire apparatus should be dispatched based on location and type of call. Paging & Voice Connectivity This includes the communications dispatch console configuration and implementation of connectivity between the dispatch console and the radio and paging infrastructure. This is a one time cost to install leased communications links between the Fire Dispatch centre and the paging and voice communications infrastructure. This can be a mix of installation fees and equipment. Page 9

16 3.2 HARD & SOFT COSTS There are both hard and soft costs related to changing Fire Dispatch service providers. Hard costs, such as the capital and expense for the core Fire Dispatch service, can be defined and quantified for inclusion in the cost analysis. Soft costs, such as the time for Fire Departments to identify their response boundaries and criteria for the new Fire Dispatch provider, are difficult to quantify and the cost value will vary between Municipalities. The soft costs are identified in this report, but the actual costs are not included. There are also soft costs which will be incurred whether there is a change of Fire Dispatch Service provider or not. The transition of the paging and voice radio communications infrastructure to the County should occur whether Fire Dispatch stays in Hawkesbury, or moves to Ottawa. Soft Costs include the following; 1. Transition of ownership and administration responsibility for the radio paging and voice communications system to the County, as well as yearly radio frequency licensing and maintenance. 2. Resolving the paging and voice communications infrastructure for L Orignal, if the Hawkesbury Fire infrastructure is no longer available. 3. Resolving the paging and voice communications frequency for Vankleek Hill and East Hawkesbury, if the Hawkesbury Fire frequency is no longer available. 4. Resolving the paging and voice communications frequency for North Glengarry and North Stormont, if the Hawkesbury Fire frequency is no longer available. 5. Resolving off hours call answer for public works, or emergency group callouts, for the Municipalities that currently use Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch. Page 10

17 3.3 DISPATCH PROVIDER COSTS Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch The costs for Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch were taken from the presentation that was reviewed with the Fire Chiefs earlier this year. The Hawkesbury cost model has slightly different cost per capita each year, based on expenses, so a 5 year average was used to simplify the report. Hawkesbury has not indicated any additional capital equipment costs for the 5 year period Ottawa Fire Dispatch The costs for Ottawa Fire Dispatch were provided by Ottawa Fire. The costs include the following; 1. The cost to implement the CAD map information and configure the County mapping data for the Municipalities currently dispatched by Hawkesbury Fire. 2. The effort to implement the fire response boundaries in the CAD will be provided at no additional charge. 3. There is a capital cost to connect the Ottawa Fire Dispatch centre to the voice and paging infrastructure and a monthly fee for the connection. The cost for the monthly fee is added to the Per Capital cost in the analysis, which raises the per capita cost slightly higher than the $3.25 per capita for the dispatching service. Ottawa Fire has not indicated any additional capital equipment costs for the 5 year period. 3.4 COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS The costs associated with the radio paging and voice communications systems within the Municipalities is not part of the analysis in this report. The costs associated with this equipment are currently the responsibility of the individual Municipalities, regardless of who provides the Fire Dispatch Service. This report recommends that the radio paging and voice communications infrastructure equipment and the ongoing responsibility for administration and maintenance be transferred to the County. Page 11

18 3.5 COST ANALYSIS Five Options Five options were compared in the cost analysis; 1. Status Quo All municipalities stay with their current Fire Dispatch provider. This is the low impact option in terms of effort and additional costs beyond the per capita fee. 2. All Switch To Ottawa All of the Municipalities currently dispatched by Hawkesbury Fire, switch to Ottawa Fire. This option involves the most effort and change. 3. Clarence Rockland To Hawkesbury Clarence Rockland switches from Ottawa Fire to Hawkesbury Fire. It is highly unlikely that this change would take place. Clarence- Rockland Fire Department has not indicated they are unhappy with the service provided by Ottawa Fire Dispatch, and switching to Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch would mean a $38,000 capital cost for Clarence-Rockland. 4. One Municipality Leaves All of the Municipalities currently dispatched by Hawkesbury Fire stay with Hawkesbury, except Russell switches to Ottawa. Regardless of which Municipality is used for the analysis in this option, the result is higher dispatch costs for the remaining Hawkesbury Fire clients. 5. North Glengarry & North Stormont Leave All of the Municipalities currently dispatched by Hawkesbury Fire stay with Hawkesbury, except North Glengarry and North Stormont Leave. This option highlights a vulnerability for the Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch, if the County of Stormont Dundas & Glengarry (SD&G) were to define a single Fire Dispatch solution County Wide. Page 12

19 3.5.2 OPTION SUMMARY The following table provides a summary of the 5 options analysed. Options 1 and 2 are the only viable options; status quo, or everyone switches to Ottawa. Option 3 would require Clarence Rockland to spend $38K to connect to Hawkesbury Dispatch, plus pay an additional 12 cents per capita, so it is not likely that this option would ever occur. Options 4 & 5 show the impact on Hawkesbury Dispatch rates if 1 or 2 Municipalities chose to leave. This demonstrates why only options 1 or 2 are viable, because if 1 Municipality leaves, the costs for the remaining Municipalities increase, so everyone would leave. MUNIC IP A L IT Y POP Viable Options OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 Status Quo Nothing Changes 5 Yr Cost Per Capita All Municipalities At Ottawa Dispatch 5 Yr Cost Per Capita All Municipalities At Hawkesbury Dispatch 5 Yr Cost Per Capita Status Quo, but Russell Changes To Ottawa 5 Yr Cost Yearly Per Capita OPTION 5 Status Quo, but N Glengarry & N Stormont Leave Yearly 5 Yr Cost Per Capita Alfred Plantagenet 9196 $207,544 $4.51 $164,279 $3.43 $155,159 $3.37 $266, $5.80 $275,966 $6.00 Casselman 3626 $81,835 $4.51 $64,776 $3.43 $61,179 $3.37 $105, $5.80 $108,814 $6.00 Champlain 8573 $193,484 $4.51 $153,150 $3.43 $144,647 $3.37 $248, $5.80 $257,270 $6.00 Clarence Rockland $376,756 $3.25 $376,756 $3.25 $429,567 $3.37 $376, $3.25 $376,756 $3.25 Hawkesbury $386,809 $7.33 $188,485 $3.43 $386,809 $7.33 $386, $7.33 $386,809 $7.33 Hawkesbury E ast 3335 $75,267 $4.51 $59,577 $3.43 $56,270 $3.37 $96, $5.80 $100,081 $6.00 Nation $263,335 $4.51 $208,439 $3.43 $196,867 $3.37 $338, $5.80 $350,149 $6.00 Russell $344,109 $4.51 $272,375 $3.43 $257,254 $3.37 $322, $3.25 $457,552 $6.00 North G lengarry $231,354 $4.51 $183,126 $3.43 $172,959 $3.37 $297, $5.80 North Stormont 6775 $152,905 $4.51 $121,030 $3.43 $114,311 $3.37 $196, $5.80 Page 13

20 There are several soft costs associated with Option 2 that are not included in the study (See section 1.4 & 3.2 for details). These costs are for potential changes required to how some municipalities receive their voice and paging communications. The costs are not included in this report, because the local Municipality will need to determine the best solution, which can range from an agreement with Hawkesbury Fire, to installing new equipment. The table shows the cost for the affected Municipality highlighted in yellow Savings or Increased Cost The following table shows the cost savings or cost increase for the 5 year period, comparing options 2 to 5, against option 1, status quo. The black positive values indicate cost savings compared to option 1, while the red negative values indicate increased costs compared to option 1. OPTION COMPARISON AGAINS T OPTION 1 STATUS QUO OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 OPTION 5 MUNICIPALITY POP TOTAL 5 YR COST 5 YR SAVING or INC R E AS E 5 YR SAVING or INC R E AS E 5 YR SAVING or INC R E AS E 5 YR SAVING or INC R E AS E Alfred Plantagenet 9196 $207,544 $43,265 21% $52,385 25% $59,232 29% $68,422 33% C asselman 3626 $81,835 $17,059 21% $20,656 25% $23,355 29% $26,979 33% C hamplain 8573 $193,484 $40,334 21% $48,836 25% $55,219 29% $63,786 33% Clarence Rockland $376,756 $0 0% $52,811 14% $0 0% $0 0% Hawkesbury $386,809 $198,324 51% $0 0% $0 0% $0 0% Hawkesbury E ast 3335 $75,267 $15,690 21% $18,998 25% $21,481 29% $24,814 33% Nation $263,335 $54,895 21% $66,467 25% $75,155 29% $86,814 33% R ussell $344,109 $71,733 21% $86,855 25% $96,345 28% $113,444 33% North Glengarry $231,354 $48,228 21% $58,395 25% $66,028 29% North S tormont 6775 $152,905 $31,875 21% $38,594 25% $43,638 29% Page 14

21 3.5.4 Detailed Cost Option Table The following table shows the information used to create the summary table above for Options 1 & 2. The table shows the yearly cost, one time capital costs and the total 5 year cost which includes the cost per capita for 5 years plus the one time capital costs. The per capital cost for Ottawa includes the $3.25 per capita dispatch fee, + the cost for the leased connections between Ottawa Fire Dispatch and the radio paging and voice infrastructure. MUNICIPALITY POP RATE PER CAPITA/YR TOTAL COST/YR ONLY VIABLE OPTIONS OPTION 1 OPTION 2 Status Quo Nothing Changes CAPITAL COST TOTAL 5 YR COST RATE PER CAPITA/YR All Munic ipalitie s Switch To Ottawa TOTAL COST/YR CAPITAL COST TOTAL 5 YR COST Alfred Plantagenet 9196 $4.51 $41,509 $0 $207, $3.43 $31,503 $6,762 $164, C asselman 3626 $4.51 $16,367 $0 $81, $3.43 $12,422 $2,666 $64, C hamplain 8573 $4.51 $38,697 $0 $193, $3.43 $29,369 $6,304 $153, Clarence R ockland $3.25 $75,351 $0 $376, $3.25 $75,351 $0 $376, Hawkesbury $7.33 $77,362 $0 $386, $3.43 $36,145 $7,759 $188, Hawkesbury E ast 3335 $4.51 $15,053 $0 $75, $3.43 $11,425 $2,452 $59, Nation $4.51 $52,667 $0 $263, $3.43 $39,972 $8,580 $208, R ussell $4.51 $68,822 $0 $344, $3.43 $52,233 $11,212 $272, North Glengarry $4.51 $46,271 $0 $231, $3.43 $35,118 $7,538 $183, North S tormont 6775 $4.51 $30,581 $0 $152, $3.43 $23,210 $4,982 $121, Page 15

22 The table below shows the cost details for option 3. MUNIC IP A L IT Y P OP Requires CR to fund capital + higher per capita rate RATE PER CAPITA/YR TOTAL COST/YR OPTION 3 Clarence Rockland Switches To Hawkesbury CAPITAL COST TOTAL 5 YR COST Alfred Plantagenet 9196 $3.37 $31,032 $0 $155, C asselman 3626 $3.37 $12,236 $0 $61, C hamplain 8573 $3.37 $28,929 $0 $144, Clarence Rockland $3.37 $78,237 $38,380 $429, Hawkesbury $7.33 $77,362 $0 $386, Hawkesbury East 3335 $3.37 $11,254 $0 $56, Nation $3.37 $39,373 $0 $196, R ussell $3.37 $51,451 $0 $257, North Glengarry $3.37 $34,592 $0 $172, North S tormont 6775 $3.37 $22,862 $0 $114, Page 16

23 The table below shows the cost details for Options 4 & 5. MUNICIPALITY POP RATE PER CAPITA/YR These Options Show The Impact If 1 or 2 Municipalities Leave Hawkesbury Fire DIspatch TOTAL COST/YR OPTION 4 Status Quo, but Russell Switches To Ottawa CAPITAL COST TOTAL 5 YR COST RATE PER CAPITA/YR TOTAL COST/YR OPTION 5 Status Quo, But N Glengarry/S tormont Leave CAPITAL COST TOTAL 5 YR COST Alfred Plantagenet 9196 $5.80 $53,355 $0 $266, $6.00 $55,193 $0 $275, C asselman 3626 $5.80 $21,038 $0 $105, $6.00 $21,763 $0 $108, C hamplain 8573 $5.80 $49,741 $0 $248, $6.00 $51,454 $0 $257, Clarence Rockland $3.25 $75,351 $0 $376, $3.25 $75,351 $0 $376, Hawkesbury $7.33 $77,362 $0 $386, $7.33 $77,362 $0 $386, Hawkesbury E ast 3335 $5.80 $19,350 $0 $96, $6.00 $20,016 $0 $100, Nation $5.80 $67,698 $0 $338, $6.00 $70,030 $0 $350, R ussell $3.25 $49,553 $247, $6.00 $91,510 $0 $457, North Glengarry $5.80 $59,476 $0 $297, North S tormont 6775 $5.80 $39,309 $0 $196, Page 17

24 3.6 MAKING A DECISION This report does not provide a recommendation on whether the Municipalities in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, as well as North Glengarry and North Stormont should procure their Fire Dispatch service from Hawkesbury Fire or Ottawa Fire. The decision on what provides the best option for all the Municipalities, must be made by the Municipalities. The decision to stay with Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch must be unanimous, or by default the selected option is Ottawa Fire Dispatch. There are numerous soft costs that will be incurred in changing Fire Dispatch service providers, as well as getting used to the new Fire Dispatch. There are also Municipal relationships within the County to consider OPTION 1 Status Quo Status Quo means Clarence Rockland stays with Ottawa Fire Dispatch and the Municipalities currently with Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch stay with Hawkesbury. This option does not provide the lowest cost for Fire Dispatch Services, but it does include the items identified as soft costs that would be incurred if leaving Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch. There are several items that would still need to be addressed, including; 1) The County should be accountable for the radio paging and infrastructure administration and costs. This is currently administered by Hawkesbury Fire. 2) Hawkesbury Fire should identify a qualified backup for the Fire Chief to operate the Fire Dispatch centre if he were ill or retires. 3) Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch and the Municipalities it dispatches should review the Dispatcher emergency staffing plan to determine if it is sufficient. Page 18

25 3.6.2 OPTION 2 Everyone Dispatched By Ottawa Fire From a simple cost comparison of Fire Dispatch service, if all Municipalities switch to Ottawa Fire Dispatch, there is a cost saving of 20% over 5 years. The Municipalities and the County will need to deal with the items under the Soft Costs, to determine the total cost to transfer Fire Dispatch services. This could reduce the cost savings for some Municipalities. The cost for the Fire Dispatch service would remain at $3.25 per capita even if one or more clients decide to leave Ottawa Fire Dispatch. The cost for the leased connections that connect Ottawa Fire Dispatch to the radio paging and voice infrastructure would need to be distributed across the remaining clients, which would cause a slight cost increase OPTION 3 Clarence Rockland Switches To Hawkesbury While there can be cost savings of 25% for most Municipalities in option 3, the savings require Clarence Rockland to accept a 14% cost increase. It is highly unlikely that this change would take place due to the cost increase for Clarence Rockland, plus Clarence-Rockland Fire Department has not indicated they are unhappy with the service provided by Ottawa Fire Dispatch OPTION 4 One Municipality Leaves For the purpose of the analysis, Russell was used as the example. No matter which Municipality was used, if one or more Municipalities leave Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch, the costs for the remaining Municipalities will increase and that increase will trigger other Municipalities to leave. The time from one Municipality announcing they are leaving to all leaving, would happen very quickly OPTION 5 North Stormont & North Glengarry This option highlights the risk inherent in the current Fire Dispatch agreement model. Each Municipality has its own agreement with Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch, so each Municipality can make a decision to stay with Hawkesbury or to leave. There are numerous Dispatch Centres that are anxious to take on new clients, or it is possible that the County of SD&G could coordinate a County wide Fire Dispatch arrangement that is better for North Glengarry and North Stormont than their agreement with Hawkesbury Fire. If these two Municipalities were to leave, it will impact the costs for the Municipalities of Prescott and Russell. Page 19

26 4 PAGING & RADIO COMMUNICATIONS 4.1 OVERVIEW The radio paging and voice communications is not part of the cost analysis for this study. However it would be improper not to identify the significant risks inherent in the current solutions. This infrastructure has served the Municipalities well, but it is now falling short of meeting the needs of the Fire Service and the equipment that makes up the system is approaching end of life. The current paging and voice communications infrastructure is 14 or 15 years old, so planning for replacement should start now, in order to provide time to properly plan, fund and implement a replacement. The first step is information gathering and planning to understand the capabilities and limitations of the existing infrastructure, as well as the requirements and options available. With this information, a plan can be developed that defines a strategy to implement a new solution. The plan may include modifications of the existing infrastructure to reduce some limitations, thereby providing time to implement a realistic replacement plan. 4.2 SYSTEM LIMITATIONS While there are three independent communications systems in use, the limitations below apply to all three systems, but the probability and severity of the impact is greater for the 23 Fire Stations that are served by the larger County wide shared system Single Point of Failure The paging and voice communications that serves twenty three (23) fire stations, spread across eight (8) Municipalities, relies on a single repeater located on the St-Isadore water tower. If that repeater fails, radio voice and paging communications with these Fire Departments is lost. There are improvements that could be made to reduce the impact of a failure, but these require additional equipment and will still result in paging and voice communications system that is getting out of date. These improvements could be part of a replacement strategy to reduce the risk and impact of failure, until a replacement system can be implemented. Page 20

27 4.2.2 Single Channel The paging and voice communications that serves the twenty three (23) fire stations, spread across eight (8) Municipalities, is a single channel used for both paging and Fire Dispatch voice communications. It can be thought of as a telephone party line shared by 23 households. If the channel is in use delivering a page or if Fire Dispatch and a fire station are communicating on the radio, no one else can use the channel. Each Fire Department only hears paging and voice communications for their station. During a working fire, Command can call Fire Dispatch, but Fire Dispatch may not hear the call because the channel is already in use by another Fire Station, or Fire Dispatch may not be able to respond, until outgoing paging is complete. This delay caused by paging on the same channel as voice communications, was referenced as a problem in the Ontario Fire Marshalls report on the fatal fire in Deep River. (See Section Item 3) Emergency Alert None of the Fire Departments have an Emergency Alert button on their radios, or at least not one that is configured. The Emergency Alert is a red (or orange) button on the top of the radio that can be used by a Fire Fighter to indicate they are in trouble. For example, if a fire fighter is trapped, they can press the button and an alert is sent over the radio, notifying Fire Dispatch, and/or other radios on scene. Providing an emergency alert on Fire Fighter radios was recommended in the Ontario Fire Marshalls report on the fatal fire in Barrie. (See Section Item 1) Audio Recording Audio recording of all Fire radio communications is done at the Fire Dispatch centre. There are three channels recorded; 1) Recording for Clarence-Rockland is done at Ottawa Fire Dispatch, 2) Recording for Hawkesbury/L Original is done at Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch 3) Recording for all other Fire Stations is done at Hawkesbury Fire Dispatch. When more than 1 fire station is recorded on a channel and there is a working fire, communications for the working fire can be difficult to identify from other communications on the channel. If there is more than 1 working fire, it may be difficult to determine which fire is reporting a benchmark. This could be a significant problem in the event that there is an investigation after a fire. Reducing the number of Fire Departments served by a single radio channel should be a priority for the Fire Departments, Fire Dispatch and the Municipalities. Page 21

28 4.3 ONTARIO FIRE MARSHALL RECOMMENDATIONS There are three Ontario Fire Marshall (OFM) investigations of fire deaths since 2002 that reference the need for Fire Radio Communications improvements Three Key Recommendations; 1. Implement an emergency button for Fire Fighter portable radios. The emergency button on Fire Fighter radios allows a trapped or injured Fire Fighter to indicate that they are in trouble, by pressing a button on their radio. The emergency alert can be configured to go to Fire Dispatch, as well as all radios on the channel. The Emergency button is not available on most Fire Fighter radios across the Municipalities in UCPR, North Glengarry or North Stormont, and is not configured on those that do have it. 2. Ensure effective and efficient communications system are in place. While a bit vague in terms of what this means, it can be interpreted as ensuring that there is working radio communications where it s needed, when it s needed. This includes radio system coverage, reliability and capacity. The existing paging and radio communications system used for Fire Dispatch in UCPR, North Glengarry and North Stormont, has single points of failure, coverage issues and allows only 1 voice or paging communications at a time, to serve 23 fire stations. 3. Ensure continuous communications can be maintained and that paging does not interfere with voice communications. Radio systems like the one in UCPR, use a single radio channel for paging and voice communications. When paging is being done, the voice communications is unavailable. With 23 fire stations being paged on the same radio channel, there is a high risk that critical voice communications from Fire Dispatch will be blocked for a brief period of time. Paging mutual aid backup for a working fire, or paging for a second fire, can disrupt communications from Fire Dispatch to the working fire. This is less of an issue for Clarence-Rockland and Hawkesbury because they have less stations to page and they are single repeater systems, so all users are aware of communications that is happening on the channel. Page 22

29 4.3.2 Specific Incidents 1) Barrie May 27, 2002 Fire Fighter Died in basement collapse That the Fire Services in Ontario be encouraged to have a secure emergency button on the remote speaker microphone of portable firefighter radios. 2) Scugog October 3, 2010 residential fatality The Council of Scugog should ensure that an effective and efficient communication system is in place; and that training is provided and documented. 3) Deep River October 22, 2010 residential fatality Further, the communication system be enhanced to ensure that the incident commander and all firefighters can maintain communications with dispatch, and that continuous communications are maintained during page-outs. 4.4 SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR The paging and radio infrastructure used to provide paging and radio communications with the Fire Dispatch Centre, requires an administrator. System administration is not a Fire Dispatch responsibility. The System Administrator is the coordinator and interface between the Municipal Fire Departments and the infrastructure service provider. The system administrator ensures the system frequencies are licensed with Industry Canada each year and that the system is maintained properly, including preventive maintenance and quick resolution of reported problems. Currently, the Town of Hawkesbury Fire Chief acts as the system administrator for the paging and radio communications infrastructure. This is provided by Hawkesbury Fire as a member of the County and as the Fire Dispatch location, but this is not a Fire Dispatch responsibility. The role of System Administrator does not move with the Fire Dispatch service. Ottawa Fire Dispatch expects the Municipalities/County to provide this function. Page 23

30 It is recommended that the voice and paging infrastructure, as well as the system administration responsibility be transferred to the County, regardless of which Fire Dispatch Service provider is selected. This function is provided by the County in many areas, including Leeds & Grenville, Peterborough, and Lanark. The individual Municipalities are responsible for all radios and pagers used by their Fire Department, with the County providing the infrastructure that links the Municipalities with the Fire Dispatch centre. 4.5 RADIO FREQUENCIES Radio frequencies are licensed by Industry Canada. Every portable, mobile, base station and repeater requires a license. Frequencies are assigned based on availability and use. Availability is whether there is a frequency available that is not in use in the area and assigning it will not interfere with anyone else nearby. Use is about how often the frequency will be used and will there be sufficient use to justify having a dedicated frequency. The Fire Departments within UCPR share a common VHF frequency. Getting new assigned frequencies for the United Counties of Prescott and Russell is difficult because of the proximity to Montreal and Ottawa, as well as the proximity to the US border. Any frequencies assigned in UCPR cannot interfere with existing users in any of these areas. The radio frequency licenses for the central shared repeater in St-Isidore and the local St-Isidore Fire department VHF access point, are licensed by the Nation Municipality. The Fire Department VHF access points on the Afred, Wendover, Casselman and Alexandria water towers are licensed by the Hawkesbury Fire Department. The VHF access points on the Enbrun, Moose Creek and Vankleek Hill water towers are not currently licensed. It is assumed in this report that the new System Administrator will work with the service provider, Christie and Walther, as well as Industry Canada, to get the radio licenses in order. It is recommended that the radio licenses be held by a single entity, to make renewal and management easier. Page 24

31 4.6 L Original Paging and Fire Dispatch voice communications for L Original are sent over the Hawkesbury Fire Department radio system, not the County wide shared system. When the system was originally built, sharing the Hawkesbury Fire department radio system saved the costs of building an additional shared site for L Original. It is assumed in this report that Hawkesbury Fire Department will no longer provide the use of their radio communications equipment, for L Orignal, if fire Dispatch goes to Ottawa. Therefore the Champlain will have to either negotiate a use agreement with Hawkesbury Fire, or install equipment in Champlain, connected to the shared County wide system. Connecting to the shared County wide system assumes there is a location in Champlain to install the equipment to provide radio coverage for L Original, and is able to reach the central repeater in St-Isidore. If these two criteria cannot be met, then a new stand alone radio site would be required, with a direct connection to Ottawa Fire Dispatch. 4.7 VANKLEEK HILL Champlain Township and East Hawkesbury must negotiate a sharing agreement to continue using the Hawkesbury Fire repeater frequency for paging and voice communications at Vankleek Hill, OR the County must apply to Industry Canada for a new frequency for Vankleek Hill. This will require changing the VHF frequency in the Vankleek Hill radio site, as well as changing the frequency in all radios and pagers used by Champlain and East Hawkesbury Fire Departments. Industry Canada may not allow continued use of the Hawkesbury repeater frequency in Alexandria and Moose Creek, based on the proximity to Hawkesbury. Page 25

32 4.8 NORTH GLENGARRY & NORTH STORMONT North Glengarry would need to apply to Industry Canada to license the existing frequency for the Alexandria radio site and license the frequency for their radios (Not currently licensed for the radio site frequency). If Industry Canada forces the use of a new frequency, This will require changing the VHF frequency in the Alexandria radio site, as well as changing the frequency in all radios and pagers used by North Glengarry Fire. North Stormont would need to apply to Industry Canada to license the existing frequency for the Moose Creek radio site and license the frequency for their radios (Not currently licensed for the radio site frequency). If Industry Canada forces the use of a new frequency, This will require changing the VHF frequency in the Moose Creek radio site, as well as changing the frequency in all radios and pagers used by North Stormont Fire. Page 26

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