High-rises prompt extra training, closer look at staffing for Moncton fire department

Moncton's changing skyline has prompted the city's fire department to undertake more training for high-rise fires and to take a closer look at its staffing levels.

Two 15-storey towers are being built downtown, with a third planned, in the Three Sisters development. On Monday evening city council will consider a proposed 30-storey apartment building, which, if constructed, would be the tallest in the province.

Moncton's fire chief says the Three Sisters development led the department to take a closer look at its preparation for high-rise calls. Firefighters received extra training on high-rise calls last summer. 

"We decided to start training and buying the equipment, creating policy and procedures for that," Conrad Landry said in an interview last week.

Overall, he says the department is ready. But he said more towers can affect response times, which may result in needing more personnel. That time is measured from when firefighters leave the station until they arrive at the door, which in taller buildings could be longer if they need to climb the stairs.

"We're going to need to look at that," Landry said. "We don't want to say we're going to need all these personnel overnight, but over the next 10 years. So we're going to need to start talking about extra personnel, for sure."

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Moncton's fire department has been taking a closer look at its readiness for high-rise fires, as more towers are proposed in the city.

The department has 21 firefighters on duty per shift — half the number a National Fire Protection Association standard says should be available for an initial response to a high-rise fire.

"That's not realistic for us at this time," Landry said of the standard. "But I think we need to at least look at increasing that a little bit."

He said they can call in off-duty personnel if necessary, and building fire standards for high-rises also play a factor.

The union representing firefighters is advocating for more personnel.

Capt. Ashley Graham, president of the Moncton Firefighters Association, said in an interview that city council has approved more police, but the fire department hasn't grown with Moncton's population and skyline.

"If there's ever a fire in some of these, we may not have enough manpower to fight them correctly, properly, and there'll be significant loss of property and hopefully not loss of life," Graham said.

Graham isn't suggesting the city add as many positions as would be required to meet the standard.

"But definitely, we need an increase in staffing to protect our public and protect the firefighters," Graham said.

He said firefighters are already strained by a spike in medical calls because of drug overdoses. 

The union says staffing levels have remained essentially unchanged since 1974, when more than 100 paid members were bolstered by about 100 volunteers from the CN railway shops. Now, there are no volunteers. 

"We actually have less firefighters today," Graham said. 

Landry, fire chief since 2018, isn't contesting that the number of paid firefighters has remained at similar levels.

Statistics Canada has reported the Moncton region was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Population growth has translated into a record-setting building boom, with more and more high-rise developments being considered. 

For the fire department, any building with six or more floors is considered a high-rise. There are now more than 50 buildings that meet that definition in the city. 

At that height, the tactics and equipment change. 

"When it comes to that, most of our ladders, any ladder in the world, can't reach the roof of these buildings," Landry said. 

"So we're going to fight the fire from inside of the building, and that's no different from anywhere in the world."

A recent report by insurance underwriters, which influences the insurance for residential and high-rise buildings, issued several recommendations that are being reviewed by city staff. 

The specifics are not yet public, and more information is expected to be presented to city council this fall. 

But Landry said one recommendation relates to increased personnel over the next decade if the city's growth continues.

"They know the city's growing, they know the plans of all these high-rises," Landry said of the underwriters report. "So there's recommendations for additional staff there, there's no secret there."

Landry said a request for more positions would likely only go to council next year for inclusion in the 2025 budget.