Vancouver's fire chief will be keeping a close eye on his phone after making a funding pitch to Ottawa for the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team.
John McKearney says if Ottawa doesn't follow through with funding some decisions will have to be made.
"Myself and the representatives from three other teams were there speaking with Public Safety Canada, with the director, and we have put together a proposal to keep the federal government as a funding and policy partner to keep a national asset there we have approached for a plan of one point six million, 400-thousand dollars a team if you like, as their contribution to keep it going."
McKearney says without federal funding the search and rescue team will be downgraded.
"We do have plans to recede into a provincial, region, city team." McKearny says the downgrade to a provincial team would have an immediate impact on the search and rescue squad.
"Well we certainly will not be equipped or capable of responding nationally or internationally. It is going to have an impact I think on the..right now we have standardization across the four teams Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario that will start to change."
Federal funding for the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team is due to run out soon.