2020 Annual Report

City of Chilliwack 40 Fire Protection The Chilliwack Fire Department has six fire halls which are staffed by 38 career firefighters and 135 paid on-call firefighters. Fire engines staffed with career firefighters operate out of downtown Fire Hall 1 and Sardis Fire Hall 4 on a 24 hour basis. In addition to the primary responsibilities of providing fire response for an area over 250 square kilometres, the Fire Department is also responsible for providing fire prevention, rescue, public hazard mitigation and emergency management. 9 The Chilliwack Emergency Program was activated twice in 2020 to support the response to the Fraser River freshet and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some highlights of efforts undertaken by City staff for the COVID-19 pandemic were to: • Ensure the continuation of services where practical. • Modify workspaces, processes and practices to deliver services in accordance with Provincial Health Authority orders and recommendations. • Share information from the Health Authority to staff and the community. • Partner with numerous stakeholders on the development of a temporary isolation facility for the City’s vulnerable population. 9 Prior to the pandemic, the Fire Department delivered training to and graduated 16 new paid on-call firefighters. 9 The Chilliwack Firefighters Education Fund awarded four post- secondary financial awards to Chilliwack high school graduates. 9 The Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society awarded six scholarships to Chilliwack high school graduates. 3,470 Total Calls for Service in 2020 310 FIRE RESPONSES 840 ALARM ACTIVATION RESPONSES 468 MOTOR VEHICLE INCIDENTS 156 MEDICAL CALLS 339 BURNING COMPLAINTS 1,074 PUBLIC SERVICE CALLS 215 PUBLIC HAZARD CALLS 3 RESCUES 60 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CALLS 5 MUTUAL AID CALLS 2020 HIGHLIGHTS