TIGNISH, P.E.I. — Tignish firefighters say a local seniors’ home is calling them too often.
After averaging a call per week to the Tignish Seniors Home Care Co-operative last year, the Tignish Fire Department has requested that provincial 911 no longer dispatch its firefighters to routine medical calls at the facility.
During its recent annual meeting, firefighters voted 18-2 in favour of no longer routinely responding to 911 medical calls from the seniors home.
In an interview Tuesday, fire chief Allan Gavin said the department will continue to respond when requested, such as in emergencies or when paramedics are not close enough for an immediate response.
He said the department has advised the seniors home of its decision and staff are understanding.
“I knew this was going to happen,” said Lorianne Keough, manager of the home.
She said the fire department’s first responders are all volunteers and have their own jobs to attend to.
She said staff and residents have been assured that “the fire department is always going to be here when needed.”
Debbie Fennessey, chair of the fire committee on Tignish town council, told councillors Monday night that 152 of the department’s 210 calls in 2018 were for medical assistance, and more than one-third (55) of those calls were to the seniors home.
Gavin offered assurances that firefighters will continue to respond to all other medical first responder calls in their district, and will attend the seniors home when requested to do so.
The home is an exception to that routine response, he said, because of the sheer volume of calls that were originating from the facility and because staff on site can tend to the basic medical needs of any of the 52 residents until paramedics arrive.
“We’re busy,” Gavin said. “It was hard to get the numbers (of first responders), especially in the middle of the night.”
Gavin said firefighters visited the facility to explain the department’s decision following the membership vote. He said they have not been dispatched to the home since the vote.
