Ibaglian Fire Service
The Ibaglian Fire Service is the national fire fighting agency of Ibagli. It was created in 1973.
History
Before the creation of the IFS, fire fighting was provided by locally-operated fire brigades. The Ministry of Defence also operated fire fighting services at armed forces installations. Other towns contracted with neighboring brigades to cover their territory. The Ministry of Defence contracted with fire brigades on behalf of rural residents, as well.
On 21 October 1971, a fire broke out in a residence in Guelph. The town had recently ended its contract with the fire brigade in Acton after an acrimonious dispute over payment. The brigade chief refused to send any equipment to the fire. The Ministry of Defence dispatched two pumpers from HMNB Crofton, over 30 kilometres away by road, to the fire. The chief of the Crofton fire brigade also sent a pumper and a water tender fifteen minutes later. After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of two adults and four children were found in the home.
The response to the fire created public outrage in Ibagli. The Conservative government under Joseph Kenilworth created a Royal Commission to look into the fire services of Ibagli. The commission's report suggested that the fire service be nationalised. Kenilworth rejected full nationalisation, but agreed to establish Ministry of Defence fire stations in rural areas.
During the 1972 election, Liberal leader Henry LeVeque campaigned on a platform that included nationalisation of the fire service. After the Liberal victory, the government set out to nationalise fire services. The Fire Service Act received royal assent late in 1972, and set the date of 1 May 1973 for the takeover of local fire brigades.
Organisation
The IFS is headed by the Chief Commissioner, who is the chair of the Fire Service Commission. The Commission reports to the Minister of Home Affairs. The members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor-General-in-Council. The Commission is made up of four commissioners and the Chief Commissioner. The Chief Commissioner and two of the four commissioners are required to be trained and certified firefighters.
The Ibaglian Fire Service is organized into five divisions. Each division has a division chief on duty at all times. The divisions are:
- Division 1 (Haphonia)
- Division 2 (Exeter)
- Division 3 (Fleuve Orange)
- Division 4 (Crofton)
- Division 5 (Loygre)
Division 6 operates at RIAF Haphonia/Haphonia International Airport. It is currently operated by the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence also operated a station at HMNB Crofton, but it was merged into the IFS in 2013. The airport station will also be merged into the IFS in 2014.
Fire stations in built-up areas typically have a number of full-time crew at the station. Some are also supplemented by part-time crew. The IFS also trains volunteer firefighters. They are unpaid and respond to fire stations for emergency calls. Some stations in rural areas rely solely on volunteer crews. At least one unit from a full-time station is dispatched on all structure fires.
Role
The Ibaglian Fire Service responds to all fires within Ibagli (except those handled solely by Ministry of Defence forces). It is also responsible for providing rescue services at other emergencies, such as natural disasters and automobile accidents. As the number of firefighters with paramedic training has increased, the IFS has been called on as first responders for the Ambulance Service. Most pumper units carry rescue and medical equipment. The IFS also has two heavy rescue trucks that respond to major rescue emergencies.
Equipment
- See also: Fire Service Apparatus List
Communications
The IFS uses VHF high band radio frequencies for dispatch and operations. Volunteer pagers are set off using tones on the dispatch channel. Except for minor incidents (which remain on the dispatch frequency), on-scene operations are conducted on simplex channels.