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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

City firefighters could leave arson strike force

By: Jen Skerritt

Posted: 06/12/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

WINNIPEG firefighters may no longer be part of a team that investigates whether a house or garbage-bin fire has been deliberately set.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Reid Douglas said the department launched an internal review of its six-person fire investigations unit in April to determine whether it should remain a part of the Winnipeg Arson Strike Force.

The force was created in 1999 as a temporary unit to solve and stop the rash of arsons that had swept through the city and gave Winnipeg the moniker arson capital of Canada.

It is made up of officers from the police major crimes unit, firefighters and the provincial fire commissioner's office.

Douglas, who was appointed chief last December, said the review is part of a broader department-wide analysis he initiated to ensure the department makes the best use of taxpayer dollars.

Douglas said the fire paramedic service has six investigators who are part of the arson strike force and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help determine whether a fire is suspicious.

If the department's fire investigators rule a blaze may have been deliberately set, provincial investigators from the Office of the Fire Commissioner are called to the scene, Douglas said.

"We're looking at duplication of service. We send fire investigators, the province sends fire investigators, the police send fire investigators and the insurance companies send fire investigators," Douglas said.

"So basically what we're doing is assisting the fire commissioner's office."

Douglas said the issue boils down to who should be responsible for investigating fires. Before the creation of the arson strike force, the fire department's district fire chief would determine whether a blaze was suspicious and phone the provincial fire commissioner's office to investigate further, he said.

The City of Winnipeg spends $700,000 a year to fund the six firefighters who are part of the arson strike force.

Douglas said taxpayers pay for the unit's building, equipment and salaries.

He called the cost "significant" and said the department wants to determine whether the money could be better spent on something such as fire prevention or education.

"It's not that fires are not going to get investigated. Nothing's going to change. The only thing that's going to change is our involvement in it," he said.

Protection and community services committee chairwoman Coun. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo) said it's a good time to re-evaluate the fire department's role in the arson strike force. Havixbeck said Winnipeg's garbage and recycling overhaul is expected to cut down on the amount of bulky waste on city streets and reduce the number of opportunities for firebugs.

Earlier this year, a city report revealed more than one-fifth of all fires set last year were related to trash. It determined Winnipeg should continue to educate citizens and work with solid-waste management to address concerns about bulky waste in neighbourhoods.

Winnipeg recorded 229 arsons between July and August 2011 -- the highest number of monthly arsons reported in a five-year period.

Havixbeck said Winnipeg will deliver garbage and recycling carts over the next three months and get rid of inner-city autobins, which are routinely filled with bulky waste and attract arsonists.

"If we can eliminate the opportunities, then we reduce the arson as well," Havixbeck said. "It will be a huge help if we get all that bulky waste out of there."

Havixbeck said the fire department is well-equipped to address the arson problem, and she trusts they will determine which model will work best for the city.

Douglas expects the internal review will be complete by September.

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 12, 2012 B1

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