Saanich and Oak Bay fire departments continue to cover safety at the adjacent university.
“WorkSafe requires employers who put employees in confined spaces must have a plan for their safety,” said chief Dave Cockle. “The University of Victoria is a shared university between Saanich Fire Department and ourselves. Both of us have a technical rescue team.”
Both departments will continue to cover that safety aspect. Since the agreement started in 2010, Oak Bay has not had to use that service at UVic. The university provided Oak Bay and Saanich fire departments an updated inventory of confined spaces on campus, complete with individual hazard assessments and classification ratings and members will have access to those confined spaces and conduct on site joint training annually.
There are no changes to the current agreement which includes: annual maintenance fee of $5,000 for administration and maintenance of training and specialized rescue equipment; a standby fee of $1,500 for the first two hours for a five-person rescue team and $75 per hour per member thereafter for all high-hazard confined space entries; and a response fee of $75 per hour per member for response to all low- and moderate-hazard confined space rescue emergencies.