Canadian town sets up database of information about disabled citizens

From The Stayner Sun in Ontario, Canada:

Clearview Township council has approved the creation of a database that will contain information about residents who have disabilities.

Council approved the database Sept. 28, at the urging of the Clearview Fire Department’s deputy chief, Bob McKean.

He told council that information collected for the database will be used by the department when responding to a call for service.

“I’m asking people to voluntarily submit information, I’ll confirm that it’s accurate and we’ll pass it on to our fire dispatch system,” he said. “On the event we have a 911 call to the person’s residence…the information is passed on to our first responders.”

The information that’s collected for the database will give firefighters several details about the disabled person living in the home.

“This will allow fire crews to begin their size up of the response while still on route and therefore develop an action plan with the resident’s specific needs in hand,” McKean said.

For example, firefighters will know what type of disability the person has, such as mobility, hearing, or sight trouble.

They will also know where the person’s bedroom is located.

Information about whether the resident uses a service dog or oxygen bottles will also be available to firefighters.

McKean stressed the information collected by the department will be kept confidential.

He said that at no time when information is being conveyed to firefighters over their radio system will the disabled person’s name be used.

McKean said it’s hard to tell what level of interest residents will have in terms of submitting information for the database.

Still, the deputy chief said he plans to promote the database through a media blitz in order to make as many people aware of the service as possible.

He added that organizations, such as the township’s Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, will be asked to recommend the program to people.

Residents wanting to submit information to the database will be able to pick up registration forms at the municipal office on Gideon Street in Stayner. The form will also be available on the township’s website.

McKean noted that some copies of the form will have larger font for people with vision problems.

It will be the resident’s responsibility to notify the department if any of the information in the database changes, he added.

However, McKean said the department will touch base with people each year to confirm the information in the database is still correct.

Once the database is 18 months old, McKean said the department will review the service.

He noted last Monday night that funding to set up and run the database service will come from the department’s 2009 operating budget.

The majority of council members supported the program.

Ward 4 councillor Thom Paterson said he thought it was a great idea.

So did Ward 7 councillor Shawn Davidson.

“I think it’s a great program,” he said. “I can’t see why anyone with a [disability] issue wouldn’t find this awesome.”

Ward 1 councillor Doug Measures said: “Any information emergency responders have before arriving on the scene is valuable. I do caution though we have to be careful – it’s our database. We must maintain the confidentiality.”

Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage was the lone holdout.

The deputy mayor liked the concept but said she had concerns about the database potentially creating a long-term financial cost for the municipality.

“I don’t want to put out a…service to a vulnerable segment of society to only say at budget time we can’t do it. It wouldn’t be fair to turn around and change our minds,” she said.

Savage said she was also concerned the database might create liability issues for the township.

The deputy mayor voted against creating the database but with the rest of council’s support the fire department’s request was approved.

“The deputy chief says he can handle this and we’ll hold him to that,” Davidson said in response to Savage’s concerns.

McKean said he hopes to have the registration forms for the database available at the municipal office and on the township’s website in the next couple weeks.