HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-02-15, Page 7An amendment to the HuronCounty medical tiered responseagreement between Brussels
firefighters and the Huron County
Ambulance Service was up for
discussion at Huron East’s Feb. 6
council meeting.
The amendment was eventually
passed, but not without a lengthy,
heated discussion.
The amendment would authorize
the Brussels firefighters to provide
first response aid to those in various
situations of need, such as cardiac
arrest, a motor vehicle accident and
industrial accidents until an
ambulance arrives.
The issue at the heart of the
amendment was response times for
ambulances traveling to Brussels.Citing the most recent statistics hehas, Fire chief Marty Bedard toldcouncil that the average ambulanceresponse time in Huron County was18:42 minutes, while the average
time to Brussels was 24:21 minutes
in 2004.
A factor in the response times was
also the speed that ambulances are
allowed to go, it being only 20 km
over the speed limit even with their
sirens on.
Deputy-mayor Bernie MacLellan
insisted that the response times must
have improved since then, with the
roaming emergency vehicle in
Brussels having a lot to do with that.
MacLellan asked to defer this
decision until some updated
information was received. He said he
had a big problem with volunteers
who have enough on their platedoing ambulance work in addition totheir fire work.In addition to that, MacLellan saidthis would provide a situation wherethe municipality is doubling its costs
unnecessarily.
“They can’t tell the ambulance not
to show up, no matter what they find
when they get there,” MacLellan
said.
Councillor Joe Steffler and
MacLellan both expressed interest in
seeing some updated response times
for information whether this
amendment was passed or not.
Councillor Larry McGrath agreed
with MacLellan, thinking that this
amendment was not a good idea.
McGrath raised issues about
liability and whether firefighters had
adequate training with the medical
equipment or not.Seaforth councillor Bob Fisherasked if the firefighters wereequipped with defibrillators, towhich Bedard responded no, but thatthey do have various other medical
supplies.
Fisher was in favour of the
amendment, saying that “the health
of our citizens is at stake.”
Councillor Bill Siemon agreed
with Fisher, saying that the
firefighters being in favour of this
amendment is the biggest reason it
should be passed.
“[The firefighters] want to help the
people in the community,” he said.
“The people in Brussels deserve a
hell of a lot better service than
they’re getting.”
Seili agreed with Bedard, citing
that the firefighters were the ones
who proposed this amendment.“The boys [firefighters] asked forthis,” he said. “That’s the long andthe short of it.”Bedard assured council thatBrussels response times, although
they may have gotten better, are still
higher than those of the whole
county.
“We’ve been talking about this for
the last six months and it was voted
unanimously [by the firefighters],”
Bedard said.
The amendment was then carried
on the strength of the fact that the
firefighters themselves asked for this
amendment.
MacLellan and McGrath voted
against the amendment.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007. PAGE 7.Tiered response up for discussion at HE
At Feb. 6’s Huron East council
meeting, one of their citizens
dropped by to turn up the heat on his
representatives.
Seaforth-area business-owner Pete
Klaver spoke to council about the
hot button issue of global warming.
Klaver called global warming the
issue of the century, saying that it is
something that a lot of people have
put off.
Klaver asked Huron East council
to take a leadership role in this issue.
He assured councillors that he cares
about his community, saying “I’m
one of you guys”.
With the recent success of Al
Gore’s documentary entitled An
Inconvenient Truth and book of the
same name, global warming has
been receiving more attention than
many other issues in the world today.
Gore has been pushing the global
warming issue since the 1970s,
lobbying for change and education
on the subject.
His recent efforts on film have
earned him an Academy Award
nomination as well as a nomination
for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Klaver showed up for his speech
armed with a copy of the book,
insisting to councillors that after a
viewing of the film or a reading of
the book that it’s impossible not to
be touched.
Klaver asked for a show of hands
among councillors as to who would
be interested in reading the book or
viewing the movie. Upon request, he
said he would be more than happy to
buy copies for council.
Nearly half of the table raised their
hands, but it was a councillor from
Klaver’s home riding, Seaforth, Joe
Steffler who took Klaver’s copy of
the book home to read immediately.
A book that Klaver says speaks for
itself.
Specifics of Klaver’s vision
involved planting trees in the
municipality, as trees absorb carbon
from the atmosphere. There were
also ideas regarding public transit
and windmill projects, something
that he said the rural communities
have more opportunities for than
those in the cities.
Following Klaver’s presentation,
Seili said this issue is one that he and
his council have been working on
already for some time.
Seili insisted that planting trees is
something that he would like to see
done, not just for the environmental
aspect, but for road safety in the
winter. He said that a treeline along
concessions can go a long way to
improving visibility in the winter.
Councillors had nothing but
positive responses to Klaver’s
presentation, but they also assured
him that this is an issue that has been
on council’s agenda long before An
Inconvenient Truth was released.
Klaver said that protecting the
planet is a legacy that our generation
should leave behind for the
children.
investing in RRSPs?
We make it easy...so YOU can take it easy!
heartlandcommunitycu.on.ca
Call us today!
(15 month term)
Min. $25,000 deposit
Check out our special rates (limited time only*)
4.15%3.66%3.05%
*Rates subject to change
without notice
(21 month term)
Min. $500 deposit**
(7 month term)
Min. $3,000 deposit***
***Youth minimum is $500**Youth minimum is $100
Clinton Exeter Listowel
482-3466 235-0640 291-6189
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
HE asked to take action on global issue
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
CCllaassssiiffiieedd aaddvveerrttiisseemmeennttss
ppuubblliisshheedd iinn
TThhee CCiittiizzeenn
aarree nnooww aavvaaiillaabbllee oonn oouurr
wweebbssiittee aatt
wwwwww..nnoorrtthhhhuurroonn..oonn..ccaa