The City of Abbotsford failed to properly train its firefighters in the use of newly purchased breathing apparatuses, according to a response to a lawsuit filed in court by the manufacturer and distributor of the equipment.
In April, the city filed a lawsuit against Avon Protection Systems, which manufactured 83 breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) purchased by the city in 2014, and Northwest Safework Solutions, which distributed the product and was the recipient of the $471,487 contract.
In its filing, the city alleged the devices were “dangerous products” that failed repeatedly and were unsuitable for use in the field.
The city’s statement of claim alleged that the O-ring in the units “was prone to failure, which would cause the air supply contained in the Avon Units to leak, and to be depleted within a time of less than one minute.” The units also didn’t “seat properly within the frames that held them,” hindering the removal and exchange of air cylinders, the city alleged.
The lawsuit said the city notified the companies about the defects, but the problems weren’t fixed. The products thus proved to be “dangerous products in their ordinary and intended use in firefighting operations,” the suit alleges.
But in a response filed earlier this month, the companies “deny the SCBAs are dangerous, as alleged or at all.”
The response said the devices were free from defects, and that any problems stemmed from improper use and a failure by the city “to properly or adequately train and supervise its employees in the use of the SCBAs, including enforcing a requirement that the city’s employees use the SCBAs in accordance with the training and direction of the defendants as to safe and proper use.”
In particular, the company said difficulties with loss of air from the devices are a result of the firefighters’ failure “to exercise the care required to best ensure proper connection with the air cylinder.”
The companies allege that while they tried to work to resolve the complaints, “The city did not co-operate with the defendants’ recommendations and advice but instead incurred the cost of purchasing other units from another supplier.”
It said the city also failed to comply with recommendations to avoid problems seating the SCBA cylinders within the frame.
The response said that before Abbotsford forwarded a letter to the companies “on or before Oct. 15, 2015,” the city continued to allow firefighters to use the devices.
In the response, the companies are seeking the dismissal of the claim, as well as costs.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.