They should have handled it better and provided clear information to the public and dispatchers, instead of the announcement coming from social media and rumours.
Mayor Deb Higgins is responding to the news that local fire dispatchers have been laid off, in favour of the provincial 9-1-1 program based in Prince Albert. The decision was made public last Friday when the fire department made a post to social media that spread across the community leaving more questions than answers.
Mayor Higgins stresses that this has nothing to do with the budget or cost cutting.
"We want to make this a clear improvement for fire service." said Higgins. "We're not taking money out of the fire service. What we're doing is enhancing the service that they will be able to provide to the residents of Moose Jaw."
Any cost savings will be used to buy new technology or enhance training according to the Mayor.
Higgins says right now, our 9-1-1 calls already go to Prince Albert, our information is taken then sent to Moose Jaw's dispatch centre and then to firefighters. The new system has the info go right from Prince Albert to the firefighters, cutting out a step according to Higgins.
While Higgins says discussions with the fire hall have been going on for weeks, the Moose Jaw Firefighters Association is telling us that they were blind sided by the news last week.
President Gord Hewitt says they had to take the bull by the horns. "We actually approached administration before about is this going to happen, what's going on here and it's always been that we don't have any direction so when this was announced, it was the first that we actually heard about it."
Hewitt says the members of the fire department were not happy with the way things were handled in the lead up to the layoffs.