ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

                                           Date: May 22, 1997
                                           CC File: 1306-8/3651-1

   TO:       Vancouver City Council

   FROM:     General Manager, Fire and Rescue Services

   SUBJECT:  Fire Department Purchase of Second HazMat Vehicle


   RECOMMENDATION

        A.   THAT Council approve the purchase and deployment of a second
             HazMat vehicle for Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services, at a one
             time cost not to exceed $100,000, to satisfy agreements with
             the University of British Columbia and associated facilities
             for hazardous materials services; source of funds to be the
             supplementary service contracts with these organizations that
             were previously approved by Council.

        B.   THAT the new vehicle be managed in the City's Plant Account
             with the balance of the Fire Services fleet and the Department
             provide for annual replacement cost from the service agreement
             recoveries.

        C.   THAT the additional ongoing operating costs, of the new HazMat
             vehicle, estimated at $25,000 be funded from the recoveries
             associated with the supplementary service agreements with the
             University of British Columbia and associated facilities.

   GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

        The General Manager RECOMMENDS approval of A, B and C.

   COUNCIL POLICY

   Since 1991, it has been Council policy to require departments to
   identify offsetting revenue or recovery increases or expenditures
   reductions when new programs or staffing are proposed.

   On January 17, 1995, Council approved the provision of fire protection
   and related services by Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services to the
   University of British Columbia and the University Endowment Lands.

   On May 28, 1996, Council approved a continuation of the UBC Supplemental
   Service Agreements which had been provided by the University Endowment
   Lands Fire Department.

   PURPOSE

   This report requests approval to purchase a second HazMat vehicle at a
   cost not to exceed $100,000 to be operated out of #10 Firehall located
   within the University Endowment Lands.  The purchase of this vehicle
   from external funding sources would fulfill obligations entered into by
   the City of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia.  Services
   were previously provided by the University Endowment Lands Fire
   Department.  With the purchase of this vehicle the Vancouver Fire and
   Rescue Services will maintain the minimum required HazMat support as
   required under current Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services standard.

   BACKGROUND

   On October 16, 1995, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and the
   University Endowment Lands Fire Department amalgamated.  At that time,
   the responsibilities for delivery of fire protection  and related
   services to the University Endowment Lands (UEL) and the University of
   British Columbia (UBC) were assumed by the City of Vancouver.  A
   supplemental agreement with UBC stated that  "UBC and its associated
   facilities (i.e., Vancouver Hospital at UBC, Triumf Research Project and
   the Pulp and Paper Research Facility) are prepared to fund all hazardous
   material equipment and cleanup costs, provide a suitable vehicle,
   together with required training" on an ongoing basis.  The Vancouver
   Fire and Rescue Services now provides a Hazardous Materials Technician
   Team at #10 Firehall to cover this supplemental agreement.

   DISCUSSION

   The Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services presently has a HazMat Response
   Team in place at #17 Firehall (57th and Knight Street).  In 1996 the
   Hazardous Materials Response Team answered to 454 HazMat incidents. 
   Each incident requires one to three hours to bring the situation under
   control due to response protocols.  HazMat incidents have taken as long
   as 72 hours to mitigate (i.e., Cyanide spill at Centennial Pier).

   Presently the HazMat Team stationed at #10 Firehall utilizes a vehicle
   that has been borrowed from another UBC program.  This vehicle is
   grossly undersize and is unable to carry all the equipment necessary to
   contain, control and clean-up hazardous material incident.  This vehicle
   must be returned to its rightful position leaving the HazMat Response
   Team with few viable alternatives to carry necessary equipment.

   The proposed new vehicle to be stationed at #10 Firehall will be smaller
   than the HazMat vehicle presently in place at #17 Firehall but will be
   large enough to carry the minimum equipment necessary to mitigate any
   hazardous materials incident encountered.  This vehicle will provide the
   same level of service and operational procedures as provided currently
   in the City of Vancouver.

   There are a large number of scientific laboratories and research
   facilities located in the University Endowment Lands area.  The number
   of hazardous materials incidents within these facilities is increasing,
   therefore,  a quick response to any incident where hazardous materials
   are present is important to reduce the threat of injuries to personnel
   and damage to property and the environment.  The level of service
   provided by the UEL Fire Department before the amalgamation did not meet
   the Vancouver Fire and Rescue standards.  The Vancouver Fire and Rescue
   Services under a Administrative Report to Council (April 30, 1996), and
   with Council's approval (May 28, 1996), agreed to provide HazMat service
   to the UBC area.

   The large amounts of flammable liquids and the wide range of hazardous
   materials used on campus, combined with the distance that the Hazardous
   Materials Unit from #17 Firehall must travel to get to UBC, makes it
   important that a quick response be maintained in this area.  Reaction to
   a hazardous materials incident must be immediate.  Delays due to traffic
   congestion  and any other delays due to great distances being travelled
   will result in further complications with any incident encountered. 
   These complications ultimately result in further hazards to life and
   increased environmental damage all of which are unacceptable by todays
   standards.  In addition, the educational opportunities available to the
   crews at #10 Firehall when working and training with the various
   agencies, who requested the supplementary agreement,  will improve
   overall response capabilities not only for the crews at #10 Firehall but
   also have the additional benefit to the crews at #17 Firehall who
   interact with #10 Firehall frequently.  This interaction has proved to
   be  beneficial to the education of all members who respond to hazardous
   material incidents within the City of Vancouver.

   By placing another fully equipped HazMat vehicle at #10 Firehall the
   Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services greatly enhances its capability to
   respond to any incident involving hazardous materials in a acceptable
   time frame.  This additional vehicle will also eliminate dangerous
   emergency responses across great distances of the City by HazMat #17
   while at the same time giving the added benefit of reduced noise
   pollution from the sirens of those vehicles having to travel those
   distances.  The City of Vancouver also receives the added benefit of
   having a second HazMat team responding as a back-up to HazMat #17 or on
   their own with the capability to mitigate any incident encountered.

   The increased incidents within Vancouver proper of hazardous materials
   responses since the inception of the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Hazardous
   Materials Response Team in October 1989 makes it prudent that a second
   fully equipped team be established.  In 1990, the Vancouver Fire and
   Rescue Services responded to 186 HazMat incidents.  In 1996, the
   Department responded to 454 incidents.  The number of high hazard
   chemical incidents in the UBC area alone (20 in 1996)dictates the need
   for a proactive approach to this problem.  Mutual aid has been discussed
   and rejected by the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services as a viable
   option at this time.

   ALTERNATIVES

   A.   Remain status quo. The advantage to remain status quo is evident: 
   money would not be allocated for this vehicle and may be spent improving
   other services.  The disadvantages of this position are numerous.  Crews
   stationed at #10 Firehall are unable to supply immediate response with
   the required equipment necessary to mitigate any type of HazMat
   incident.  HazMat #17 would be responding great distances across the
   City under dangerous emergency conditions.  The Vancouver Fire and
   Resuce Services would not be supplying the service as required by the
   supplemental agreements to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services current
   standard of delivery.

   B.   Move HazMat #17 closer to UBC.  This would install much needed
   equipment closer to the problem source.  The disadvantages are the lack
   of a Firehall with the ability to house HazMat #17 and related equipment
   and that the City of Vancouver may be left without a HazMat response
   capability as the number of HazMat responses to the UBC area increases. 
   Mutual aid would not provide the immediate response required for these
   type of incidents.

   C.   Purchasing of a new HazMat vehicle to be located at #10 Firehall. 
   Advantages are immediate responses to the problem source and fulfilling
   of agreements with UBC and associated facilities.  The City of Vancouver
   would be receiving a second fully equipped HazMat Team capable of
   dealing with any emergency situation.

   Finally funding is not an issue as the funds are provided for through
   agreement. There have been no disadvantages identified.

   D.   Contract for services.  In a recent survey looking into the
   possibility of contracting out for chemical expertise in relation to Haz
   Mat incidents, contracting for services in this particular  field was
   found to be to expensive.  Retainer costs on a 24-hour basis was
   considered to be extravagant and the required immediate response to a
   incident was not guaranteed.   The number of companies willing to 
   perform this type of work was also limited leaving the Vancouver Fire
   and Rescue Services as the only company able to provide immediate
   assistance on a 24-hour basis.

   ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

   The addition of a second Hazardous Materials Response Vehicle would
   provide a rapid response  capable of neutralizing  and cleaning up any
   hazardous material thus having minimal effect on the environment. 
   Environmental noise pollution related to emergency responses will be
   reduced to minimum acceptable levels.  This team will also provide
   additional support to the City of Vancouver in the event of a major
   emergency.

   PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

   Training of personnel is taking place at this time.  Personnel now
   stationed at #10 Firehall are trained to Vancouver Fire and Rescue
   Services standard of HaZmat response.  This training is taught to NFPA
   472 Hazardous Material Technician Standards and is undertaken by the
   Training Staff of the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services with the help
   of external expertise at no cost to the Vancouver Fire and Rescue
   Services.  These personnel have been trained to take the place of
   personnel at #10 Firehall not familiar with hazardous materials response
   techniques and who are not certified HazMat Technicians.

   All personnel trained as HazMat Technicians are also capable of fire
   suppression duties.

   Training of members of the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing
   and required to maintain current qualifications and certification to
   work as part of the Hazardous Materials Response Team.

   There is no addition to present staff levels associated with the
   purchase of this vehicle.

   FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

   Under the agreement with the University of British Columbia and the
   associated facilities, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services will receive
   $35,000 annually to provide hazardous materials services.  In addition,
   funding of $102,000 is currently available from the UBC Fire
   Extinguisher Program related to services provided by the Departments in
   1996.

   The proposal in this report is to utilize these available recoveries to
   purchase fully equipped HazMat Vehicle to provide services to UBC at a
   cost not ot exceed $100,000. Once purchased, the vehicle will be managed
   in the Plant Account with the balance of fire equipment, with a portion
   of the annual recovery from the services agreement (approximately
   $10,000) going to provide for the eventual replacement of the vehicle. 
   The balance of the recovery will be allocated to vehicle operation and
   maintenance ($10,000) and to hazardous materials supplies ($15,000).

   There is no net cost to the City as a result of this proposal.

   IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

   This program has continued unchanged since the UEL amalgamation.

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