Guest Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Calgary International Airport replaces firefighters with private fire crew A decades-old relationship between the Calgary Fire Department and the Calgary Airport Authority will be coming to an end next month. End of contract means publicly employed firefighters will be re-assigned Scott Dippel · CBC News · Posted: Jan 18, 2019 6:00 AM MT | Last Updated: an hour ago Calgary Airport Authority owns the firehall and equipment at YYC but City of Calgary provided the firefighters under an agreement with the authority. That agreements ends this year. (Calgary Fire Department) A decades-old relationship between the Calgary Fire Department and the Calgary Airport Authority will be coming to an end next month. The contract between the two organizations is expiring, and once it does, Calgary firefighters will leave the airport station for the last time. Under a new contract arrangement, the Calgary Airport Authority will replace city firefighters with private crews on March 1. YYC owns the airport's fire station and all the specialized equipment inside. Negotiations between the city and airport authority on a new deal didn't work out, which Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said was unfortunate. RELATED | Airport fire protection a money-loser for fire department Under the existing contract, Dongworth said the city spent more than it got paid to provide the airside service to YYC Calgary International Airport. "We were losing money. We believe to the tune of half a million dollars a year, so obviously now we'll be half a million dollars better off not doing that business," Dongworth said. "Having said that, we would have preferred to have come to an arrangement with the airport authority where we continued that business." Airport heads new way In the new contract, the task of initial response to any emergency calls on the airport runways will go to Canadian Airport Fire Services, a private company with 25 years in the business. The airport authority would not do an interview on the development. In a statement, it said the move wasn't unusual. "We saw an opportunity to directly manage and oversee first response services at the airport. YYC has been the only major airport in Canada that contracts its firefighting services to the city," the statement said. "Other major airports provide these services through specialized teams in house, or through external companies." YYC said there will be no difference in service or runway protection for the travelling public. 'First-strike capability' The city's crews still will respond to any calls from the airport terminal, the chief said. As well, they'll join any emergency response to any major incidents on runways. "The team at the airport is just a first-strike capability, and you need much more weight-of-attack if you were to have a serious aircraft incident on the property," Dongworth said. A total of 30 firefighters will leave the airport fire station and be assigned to other stations around Calgary, Dongworth said. The change means the fire department will not need to hire as many recruits this year to replace firefighters who retire or leave the department, the chief said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Private firefighter firm swapped for another at Calgary airport The Calgary Airport Authority's plan to replace city crews with private firefighters at YYC has hit a little bump. It means city fire crews will stay at the airport until June 1. City crews will stay at YYC an extra three months Scott Dippel · CBC News · Posted: Jan 24, 2019 6:00 AM MT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago The Calgary airport owns the fire hall and trucks at YYC but the City of Calgary provides the firefighters who work there (Calgary Fire Department) The Calgary Airport Authority's plan to replace city crews with private firefighters at the international airport has hit a bump. YYC had announced it awarded a contract to a private firm, Canadian Airport Fire Services, for the airside fire and rescue services starting on March 1. The move would have ended a relationship that dates back decades between the airport and the city for providing that service. Now the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says its firefighters will stay on at the airport fire station until June 1. Tight-lipped on change In a statement, the airport authority said another company will provide the service but not Canadian Airport Fire Services (CAFS) as was originally announced. "YYC initially was working with a different service provider for a March 1, 2019, takeover but that contract has since been awarded to Pro-Tec Fire Services effective June 1, 2019," wrote Reid Fiest, the authority's manager of media relations. He wouldn't comment on any contractual details or what happened with CAFS. Instead, he noted that Pro-Tec has more than 40 years of experience. YYC owns the airport fire station at 78 Avenue N.E. and all of the specialized equipment there. Calgary Fire to have a role Calgary Fire Department said that after the handover, its firefighters still will respond to calls at non-runway locations at the airport and dispatch additional crews to support airport firefighters in the event of a major incident on the runways. Once the private company takes over, the fire department will transfer its 20 firefighters to other stations. That means CFD won't have to hire as many recruits this year to replace firefighters who leave or retire from the department. Airport fire protection a money-loser for fire department Fire Chief Steve Dongworth has said in the past that the airport firefighting contract actually cost the department about half a million dollars a year. The financial terms of the contract are not being released. http://www.protecfire.com/careers.php Positions Available at Calgary International Airport Fire Chief Deputy Fire Chief Captain Firefighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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