The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 17,1999 * Fire chief defends * department's actions Inquest told firefighters acted appropriately By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Despite changes made to fire depart ment policies and procedures following a tragic house fire that took the lives of four people, Oakville fire chief Wayne Gould says his department did every thing that could be expected in respond ing to the August 1998 fire. Chief Gould took the witness stand Tuesday in the ongoing coroner's inquest investigating the deaths of Lynn Fedoruk, 44, her children Adam, 15, and Amanda, 12, and her visiting cousin Bonnie Letchuck, 45. Firefighters pulled the four victims from the Salvator Blvd. residence with no vital signs. All four died in hospital of smoke inhalation shortly afterwards. "I think (firefighters) did their best and I support their efforts," Chief Gould told the coroner's jury. "Yes, the results of this fire were tragic, but I don't want anybody to lose sight of what the issues were in this incident." The fire department's response to the early morning blaze has come under crit icism by Halton police officers and an independent consultant. However, Chief Gould said the focus should be on the lack of working smoke alarms in the home, an open door that allowed toxic smoke and gases to flood the bedroom and the decision by the vic tims to remain in the home and call 911 rather than try to escape. Following the Aug. 16th blaze, which was Oakville's worst-ever fire tragedy, the fire department established a task group to evaluate its response to the inci dent. The task group developed a number of recommendations relating to depart ment procedures, policies and training methods, Chief Gould told the jury. Several changes have resulted, including the ongoing installation of a computer-aided dispatching system, improved training for dispatchers, an emphasis on good note-taking for fire fighters, better communication with other emergency agencies, the purchase of a thermal imaging camera and addi tional portable radios, and an increased emphasis on public education and fire prevention activities. "I'm extremely proud of the work that's been done to date," said Chief Gould, who has headed the force for over eight years. On Monday, the jury heard from for mer Mississauga fire chief Cyril Hare, who now works as an independent con sultant. He said the fire department's dis patcher should have told firefighters that a 911 call had been received from inside the home, rather than sending trucks out to respond to a "possible" house fire. Earlier in the inquest, the jury heard from a veteran police officer who said he didn't feel firefighters were working with appropriate speed considering the people trapped in the home. Hare also suggested the town should develop an amalgamated 911 system integrating fire, police and ambulance response. But Chief Gould dismissed Hare as providing a "one-dimensional overview" of the situation. "In my opinion, this was one person's assessment," he said. He said dispatchers don't always have time to transmit all the details of a call to fire trucks. "(The dispatcher) did what she was supposed to do. She got the minimum amount of information necessary to dis patch the vehicles." A number of firefighters have also testified that they treat all house fires as if someone is trapped, until they are con vinced otherwise. As for an amalgamated 911 system, Chief Gould said he believes there would be some significant advantages to such a set-up, but recognizes the obstacles to making it a reality. Not only would the system require significant capital cost expenditures, the various parties would also need to deal with a number of different existing col lective agreements and determine a method of sharing costs. The inquest will continue today (Wednesday) at the Oakville Quality Inn. Tre e lighting m arks start of C h ris tm a s season Photos by Peter J. Thompson Bill Steinburg and son Bennett (above) enjoy the tree light ing festivities Friday evening at Town Square while Salvation Army band members Bruce Taylor, Gayle Castle and Robbin Ryerse, play seasonal music. T o d a y 's O a k v ille B ea v er for your copy of: To re c e iv e y o u r O a k v ille C o m m u n ity G u id e lo o k inside t o d a y 's p a p e r o r p ic k u p a d d itio n a l c o p ie s at: · Town of Oakville Planning Department · Halton Region · Oakville Library · Oakville Cham ber of Com m erce ·The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd. The 1999 Oakville Rotary T.V. Auction Flyer If you did not receive a flyer call 845-3824 Ext. 281 Residents angry (Continued from page 1) B e c a u s e th e s h o rte s t d is ta n c e o e iw e e n i u j o p o in ts is ra re ly paved. · 4.0 L 210hp V6 · Air Conditioning now engage yet another consultant. She asked Council to vote against Graham and get on with fixing the problem. Trafalgar Road currently has a night time ban on trucks and a 24-hour ban on vehicles over 12 tons. Residents want a 24-hour ban on Trafalgar, Reynolds and Allan Streets, where currently there is only a nighttime ban, as soon as possi ble. (Morrison and Chartwell Road resi dents have pushed for and received a 24hour ban.) Graham - who said she is not sug gesting the Truck Study be completely "opened up" - explained that her motion would not delay solutions since the Dorval extension is not slated for seven more years. She said she simply wants the 1996 study to be validated and for everyone from truckers to residents to completely understand enforcement measures and signage. Ward 6 councillor Tedd Smith did not support Graham, saying that spending more money on a consultant is not the answer, especially when enforcement is concerned: when alleged truck route vio lators had their day in court this summer, the Justice of the Peace threw out more than 100 charges on the grounds that the series of signs from the QEW to Old Oakville is just too confusing. Now police won't lay charges until the Crown Attorney says appropriate signage meets provincial requirements. Smith maintains that once the court and signage issues are resolved and trucks travel their proper routes, the whole matter will likely settle down. · 5-Speed Automatic with Overdrive · AM/FM Cassette/CD Remote Keyless Entry Platinum Side Step Bars 16" Aluminum Wheels Fog Lamps Speed Control Tilt Steering Business award deadline extended to Nov. 22nd The deadline for submitting entry information for the Oakville Awards For Business Excellence nominees. About 100 companies were nominated for the awards but the deadline for responses has been extended to Nov. 22nd. Awards judges ask the nomi nees the following five questions: 1. What differentiates you in your business? 2. Explain why employees might want to work for you? 3. Describe the growth of your organization since it was formed. 4. How do you and your organi zation give back to the communi ty? 5. How do you demonstrate customer service? "Our focus is on excellence, not speed," said Nur Cowan, Chair of the 1999 Awards program. `To be fair, those who have already sent in their information, may amend it by that deadline if they wish." 2 0 0 u Explorer 2 -D a o r S po _____ B a s e d o n 4 .9 % A P R o v e r 3 6 m o n th s ___ We have the right lease payment for you m on th T ota l Due a t S ig n in g 2 000 E x p lo re r 2-D r. S p o rt M o n th ly P aym ent D ow n P a ym e n t S e cu rity D e p o s it F re ig h t $319 $396 $455 $4,495 $1,995 $0 $375 $475 $525 $815 $6,004 $815 $3,681 $815 $1,795 36 m onth le a se $4,495 d o w n p a y m e n t p lu s $815 fr e ig h t a n d $375 s e c u rity d e p o s it First month's payment required. *0.08/km over 60,000 km over three years. *19,26400 optional buyback. Applicable taxes, licence, insurance and administration fees extra. w w w .fo rd .c a /o ffc rs YOUR TORONTO FORD DEALERS Look w h a t w e 'v e got for you n o w W IS E B U Y E R S R E A D T H E L E G A L C O P Y : ` Lease a n e w 2 0 0 0 E x p lo re r 2 -D o o r S p o rt 4 x4 , f r o m F o rd C r e d it t o q u a lif ie d r e t a il lessees, o n a p p ro v e d c r e d it. T o ta l lease o b lig a t io n is S 1 5 ,9 7 9 /$ 1 6 ,2 5 1 /$ 1 6 ,3 8 0 e x c lu d in g f r e ig h t . D e a le r m a y lease f o r less. S om e c o n d itio n s a p p ly . O ffe rs m a y c h a n g e w it h o u t n o tic e . L im ite d t im e o ffe rs . See d e a le r f o r d e ta ils . T o r o n to FD A, P.O. B o x 2 0 0 0 , O a k v ille , O n t a r io L6J 5E4