Earlier this year, Port Hardy Fire Rescue put forward a request to the District of Port Hardy to move from a completely volunteer-based department to a paid-on-call department. Members would be compensated for their services to the community (ex: training, calls, hall duty, etc.).
In a statement on their Facebook page, the department says that, “with the increased demand for time from our members associated with the fire service in today’s day and age, we feel that compensating our members for their services would greatly improve member retention and commitment, and overall enhance the quality of service provided by our department to the community. There are many different models for how compensation could be structured and how it would impact municipal taxation rates, and now your [residents] input is needed to help make a decision.”
A survey has been launched on the topic. That can be viewed and filled out here: www.surveymonkey.com.
