Port Moody to defund volunteer firefighter association after 111 years
Posted December 26, 2024 1:35 pm.
As part of its provisional budget for 2025, the City of Port Moody says it will disband its local volunteer firefighters association after 111 years of service.
Port Moody Volunteer Firefighters Association (PMVFA) — separate from, but managed by Port Moody Fire Rescue (PMFR) — will not receive city funding in 2025, following a “detailed financial review.”
The association took to social media Tuesday to respond to the change, saying its members remain commited to their duties.
“The Port Moody Volunteer Firefighters Association has carried forward the legacy of the original volunteer-led fire suppression service established in 1913, the year of Port Moody’s incorporation,” read a post on Facebook.
In the years since its inception, the PMVFA says volunteers have helped with training and mentoring firefighters, deployment, structural and high-rise firefighting, wildfire response, motor vehicle incident management, embankment rescues, post-disaster building assessments, and emergency centre operations.
The association says the cut was proposed by PMFR Chief Darcey O’Riordan. The departmental budget cited several reasons for defunding the association, including declining use in recent years, increasing costs associated with volunteer turnover, and an ongoing strategy to add more full-time career firefighters to PMFR.
The city says PMFR will not be affected as it phases out the use of volunteer service.
“In recognizing the ongoing exceptional contributions by Volunteer Firefighters in supporting community events and fundraisers, PMFR will be working with the volunteers to explore ways to continue to provide volunteer activities associated with the PMFR and recognize the legacy of the Port Moody Volunteer Firefighter Program,” the city said.
In a response to a comment on social media, the association says the mayor and council’s decision is a “tragedy,” claiming it may cost taxpayers more to ask for mutual aid from Coquitlam than it would to fund 20 volunteers for an entire year, if a major disaster arises.
“Their legacy of service and commitment to the community will not be forgotten,” the association said of its volunteers.
