Prince Edward County council passed a motion which seeks to have all County volunteer firefighters vaccinated against COVID-19.
Councillors discussed the addition of volunteer firefighters under the mandatory vaccination policy for municipal employees on Tuesday night during their regular council meeting. The mandatory vaccination policy was passed by council in late September and at the time did not include volunteer firefighters.
CAO Marcia Wallace said they decided to follow the province’s direction and as of November 15, those who are not vaccinated cannot attend medical calls, but can attend all other calls. She noted the legislation in regards to volunteer firefighters is quite silent.
Deputy Chief Tim Kraemer says of the 134 volunteers, 124 are vaccinated. He also said in discussion with the six division commanders, the universal opinion was that all volunteers be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Councillors were concerned that by placing those who did not have their vaccination on unpaid leave it would cause a prolonged response time during emergencies, especially in the northern part of the County.
Following an amendment, those who choose to not get vaccinated can continue to respond to calls provided they show a negative COVID-19 test.
Mayor Steve Ferguson said this was not an easy decision but there are contingency plans in place and they owe it to their volunteer firefighters to support them, as well as owe it to the public.
