Meeting the demands of work orders issued against Amherstburg's fire department has cost the town more than $160,000.
"It is a bit of an issue that we have to do it all at once," admits Mayor Aldo DiCarlo saying it's money the town would have had to pay out regardless. However, he's confident the fire department is in a better place now.
He says the addition of a fire chief and a deputy chief from Windsor has helped improve the culture.
"We actually got from the OFMEM [Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management] a person who normally would have come to tell you what you're doing wrong, we now employ to make sure we don't do anything wrong."
Last June, the Ministry of Labour investigated two complaints at the town's fire department related to firefighter pants and jacket turnout coats. It issued 23 work orders.
Amherstburg fire spent nearly $60,000 on Safedesign bunker gear and $31,000 among other things.
The town was also ordered to update its workplace violence and harassment policies and establish a joint health and safety committee.
"The firefighters themselves are empowered to address health and safety issues, and perhaps some of the issues that came about arose because they weren't necessarily aware of the process," says DiCarlo. "That message is definitely getting through now."
Find a detailed list below of the more than $160,000 in expenses:
- with files from Jason Viau.