Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
If that old adage holds true, the Yellowknife Fire Division could be in a heap of trouble.
Fire chief John Fredericks is suddenly gone after five years on the job. The reason behind that abrupt departure is not clear.
Officials from the City of Yellowknife won’t talk about it, of course. It’s a confidential personnel matter.
But someone with some insight into morale at the fire department tells Yellowknifer that the situation is grim. The individual spoke of a leadership vacuum.
“It’s chaos right now because no one really knows what’s happening and no one knows who’s running the department. There’s lots of talk but it’s the worst it’s ever been,” the person said.
Compounding matters for the more than 30 firefighters and paramedics is that they’re involved in arbitration with the city, resulting in even more uncertainty.
While the observations from this one source may not be shared by others within the fire division, Yellowknifers should be reassured that dysfunction isn’t compromising a critical service. The city has a communications job to do, but only after it’s resolved turbulence within the fire department.
In the meantime, residents have a role to play. Our firefighters have been facing a lot of heat, so to speak. Demand for their assistance is up - way up. Calls for service are on pace to hit 5,400 by the end of this year. Normally, that figure ranges between 3,200 and 4,500. A significant number of callers have been seeking advice because they have symptoms that they associate with Covid-19. The vast majority of those inquiries should be directed to the territory’s 8-1-1 line, which is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.
Let’s do our part to ease the burden on our fire department by restricting calls to true emergencies.