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fire study

By Loreth Beswetherick Whistler’s fire chief Norm Dedeluk is preparing a five-year plan in response to recommendations made in a fire underwriter’s study completed one year ago this month. The study itself, however, is not likely to be made public.

By Loreth Beswetherick Whistler’s fire chief Norm Dedeluk is preparing a five-year plan in response to recommendations made in a fire underwriter’s study completed one year ago this month. The study itself, however, is not likely to be made public. Dedeluk said his five-year action plan is tentatively slated to go before council Oct. 18. The underwriter’s survey was done through the summer of 1998 to assess Whistler’s fire service infrastructure and ability to adequately respond to emergencies in the community. Municipalities traditionally have fire service inventories conducted once every 15 years. Whistler’s study was fast-tracked after a 10-year period because of the unusually rapid pace of development since the 1988 study. The studies are done to ensure a community has the capability to adequately respond to emergencies over a projected 15-year period. Indications are that the Whistler study is critical of aspects of the resort’s fire service infrastructure. Dedeluk said the study has gone before council — but in a workshop format, not the regular public format. He said council’s direction was to prepare the five-year plan based on the inventory recommendations. He said he cannot make copies of the plan available to the public unless he receives council direction to do so.