Through a partnership agreement announced in June 2019, the Town of Qualicum Beach and the City of Parksville
began sharing the services of the Parksville Fire Chief.
The Councils of the City of Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach subsequently directed staff to work with a
consultant to conduct a comprehensive fire service review (FSR). The FSR focused on an assessment of each fire
rescue department’s operations and administration as well as the identification of governance structure options for
the possible amalgamation and joint operations of the Qualicum Beach and Parksville Fire Rescue Departments. The
review was completed in December and the findings presented to the municipalities by Behr Integrated Solutions.
Several options presented in the report were considered by both Councils at meetings held on April 7, 2021. Both
the City of Parksville and the Town of Qualicum Beach Councils authorized the release of the FSR. Following the
considerations of both Councils, the outcome is to return to separate and distinct fire departments. The Town of
Qualicum Beach will fill the vacant fire chief position and finalize the structure in the Qualicum Beach Fire Rescue
Department. Once the vacant fire chief position is filled, the Fire Chief Secondment agreement between the City of
Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach will come to an end and Fire Chief Norris will return to full duty with the
City of Parksville.
As directed by the both Councils, the two fire chiefs will assess elements of the FSR specific to their respective fire
departments and make recommendations to each Council for implementation. In the future, the two fire chiefs will
work together to identify and communicate to their Councils, opportunities for shared implementation of elements
of the FSR. They will continue to foster and grow the close working relationship already in place between the two
departments.
QUOTE:
Parksville Mayor Ed Mayne and Qualicum Beach Mayor Brian Wiese in a joint statement said, "We look forward to
building on the collaboration between our two organizations to benefit the fire departments and our communities.
Both the Town of Qualicum Beach and the City of Parksville are fortunate to have a working relationship which
supports this innovative arrangement. We thank Chief Norris for his dedication, demonstrated leadership and
excellence in service to our residents. We also thank the members of both departments for their ongoing support
and commitment as we examined this opportunity.”
The Parksville and Qualicum Beach Joint Fire Service Review may be viewed at
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