City of Surrey 2016 Annual Report

CITY OF SURREY OVERVIEWS FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Fire Department helps to make the City a safe place to live and has responsibility for the following divisions/sections:

OPERATIONS DIVISION Operations is the largest division and is responsible for emergency medical services, fire suppression, and hazardous materials response and rescue activities. In addition to the activities handled by the Suppression Branch, the Operations Division is also responsible for the Prevention and Training Branches. PREVENTION Prevention minimizes the risk of life and property loss, which is accomplished through Bylaws, the Fire Service Act and Fire Code Enforcement, public education and fire investigation. Fire Prevention Officers perform fire investigations, life safety inspections in commercial, assembly, and educational occupancies, re-inspections, as well as review plans for new buildings, renovations and construction sites for fire safety, occupancy approval, and business licenses. They also help to educate the public about fire safety.

TRAINING The Training Branch develops and delivers training programs to enhance the skills, increase the competencies and expand the scope of training for Surrey’s 500 career and volunteer staff.

SURREY EMERGENCY PROGRAM Surrey’s Emergency Program includes Neighbourhood

Emergency Preparedness Program (NEPP); Business Emergency Preparedness Program (BEPP); Surrey Emergency Program Amateur Radio (SEPAR); Surrey Search and Rescue (SSAR); and Emergency Social Services (ESS), Level One: Personal Disaster Assistance. Through these programs, City staff and the large network of volunteers provide valuable community emergency services.

2 0 1 6 A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S • Reduced the number of non-compliant properties through inspection education

• Inspected 7,525 business properties and provided 7,063 safety educational inspection pamphlets to the business

• Jointly with the City, received the 2016 Award for Collaborative Excellence by the Canadian Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention in recognition of the BC Working Smoke Alarm Campaign; and the 2016 Professional Development Award by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators for the publication: The Right Decision: Evidence Based Decision Making for Government Professionals. • Continued to refine the Attendance Management Program that resulted in achieving a 62% perfect attendance. • Engaged in an evaluation of predictive analysis software to maintain the effectiveness of the program in optimally deploying resources to City’s service demands.

strategy for commercial and multi- residential properties; the compliancy inspection rate has been maintained from 91% in 2015 to 90% in 2016. • With the help of a sustained focus on Homesafe fire prevention initiatives, there has been a marked reduction in both the residential fire rate per 1,000 dwellings (49% reduction), and the fire related death and injuries in residential properties (88% reduction) over the last decade. • Completed a comprehensive audit review of Technical Specifications for a major apparatus to better align with updated corporate procurement guidelines.

proprietors. This ongoing initiative bolsters the City’s efforts to improve the resiliency of businesses in the event of a disaster or major incident. The Business Emergency Preparedness Program included delivery of 6,966 targeted disaster recovery educational pamphlets.

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