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Slave Lake firestorm Inferno moved faster, with more force, than any fire in Canadian history by Chief Jamie Coutts, as told to Laura King
fit in the fire hall Create a functional gym out of an unconventional space
Heat from the fire that tore through Slave Lake in mid-May weakened steel support beams so they twisted like licorice. The remains of lawn chairs, an ATV, a storage cabinet and a hot water heater that once sat in a garage can be seen in this photo. See story on page 8.
Photo by Rob Evans.
FireMore saves than losses in Slave Lake
services exist to help people on the worst days of their lives. That’s why the men and women of Canada’s fire services are so highly regarded in their communities. Communities like Slave Lake.
Buckets of ink have been emptied about the wildfires that burned a third of the northern Alberta town to the ground. In the case of Slave Lake, the finger pointing started while the fires were still burning.
Chief Jamie Coutts of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service reviews the mind-boggling and emotional events of mid-May in a narrative starting on page 8. Coutts’ words were so powerful when we spoke by phone on June 21 that instead of weaving bits and pieces of his quotes into a story about the fire, the politics behind timing of evacuation orders and the role of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, we opted to run Coutts’ narrative verbatim. The story is a candid exposé on the limitations of any fire service in the face of natural disaster, and the pride and determination of Slave Lake’s 60-plus volunteers to save what they could in a perfect storm of fire, wind and heat.
There are two overriding themes. First, there was no stopping this fire. Whipped by record winds, forestry experts said the wildfire was the fastest moving in recorded Canadian history. Secondly, when firefighters – who had worked around the clock for days in Armageddon-like conditions – heard about the hand-wringing in the media over the devastation, they made a pact to change the negative tone of the coverage and started telling the real story on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube – the story of what had been saved.
By Day 5 – Wednesday, May 18 – the men and women of Slave Lake’s fire service –aided immeasurably by equipment and personnel from Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie, St. Albert, Peace River, the County of Parkland, and beyond – took a stand. Weary to the bone, they said there would be no more losses from this fire. They stood their ground and protected what was left in what is regarded as one of the largest co-operative firefighting efforts in Canadian history.
Slave Lake is still there. A third of the town burned, but two-thirds did not. There was not a single civilian injury or fatality in the fires.
The Slave Lake fire of 2011 is a case study of excellence in the face of the anarchy of wildfire.
As mentioned here numerous times, we at Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly, Fire Fighting in Canada, and our websites – firefightingincanada.com and firehall.com – along with the Firehall Bookstore, are working to serve our readers and viewers better. With our newly launched firehallmall.com – a one-stop-shopping marketplace for the fire service – departments will be able to find everything from apparatus to Zodiacs and order online.
Don’t worry, we’re not replacing the usual fire-service manufacturers or suppliers; in fact, the vendors you rely on for your equipment are working with firehallmall.com to offer a fully stocked shopping experience through which you can access their products and have them delivered by the supplier or distributor nearest you.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to help our advertisers market their products and it gives our readers one-stop-shopping,” said publisher Martin McAnulty. “It’s like Amazon meets Costco – our bookstore combined with everything your department needs, in one place, online.”
You can access the Firehall Mall through the Firehall Bookstore at www.firehallbookstore.com.
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Firemedics – combined from the start
As I write this, I am helping to train eight new paramedic/firefighter recruits. The challenge is enormous because the training encompasses both fire and EMS procedures. However, the greatest challenge is breeding a culture of dual-role service to new recruits from various backgrounds. These new hires are very enthusiastic and proud of their decisions to choose careers as firemedics.
Lethbridge, Alta., Day 1
Recruits arrive at the station to find a lifestyle that does not separate paramedic and firefighter duties. It may seem unusual to these new personnel, whose backgrounds were working at stand-alone ambulance services. This becomes evident when they see a team preparing an ambulance for duty one moment and checking fire nozzles the next. This combination of service delivery shines because everyone realizes the common goal of equally supporting one another. Throughout their training, it will become engrained in their heads that serving the community is the goal, regardless of the type of emergency. The recruits will learn to change roles depending on the incident. This culture is developed as the recruits are educated simultaneously in both specialties. Over the course of their training, the recruits will learn about the similarities between the two services and the benefits of combining them, for example:
• Both disciplines incorporate and study SOGs;
• Training scenarios are designed to engage medical and fire duties;
• Scene photographs/videos are studied to emphasize the importance of teamwork;
calls for consistency.
• Promotion of firemedics to officers allows all-around knowledge of protocols and procedures.
• Having one incident commander reduces confusion (everyone can recognize the blue command vest).
• All ambulances contain breathing apparatuses, turnout gear, hydrant wrenches and basic extrication tools.
Lee Sagert
Respect for both professions is critical.
• Seniority or merit does not restrict recruits from learning about and operating all apparatuses and equipment;
• Continuous emphasis on using all department resources to provide safe, excellent emergency care (back-up support is always available);
• A station atmosphere of teamwork, lack of egos and keenness for both EMS and the fire service is emphasized.
As the recruits progress through their training, dual duties continue for front line crews. Achieving this on a daily basis comes down to command and control. Clearly defined roles are vital to operating at any emergency. By following the incident command system, freelancing is eliminated and firemedics are able to identify with their roles more easily because they are given clear direction. Incident commanders must prepare for continually changing conditions and unexpected issues as they occur. Combined fire/EMS departments have the ability to easily adapt to these challenges by deploying more paramedic or firefighter roles if the situation requires. This flexibility eliminates obstacles that may be caused by multi-agency responses. The effectiveness of this approach pays dividends since everyone on the scene is capable of any role. Due to its long-time integration, Lethbridge is now seeing paramedics in captain roles and chiefs who have worked many years as paramedic/firefighters. The benefits include:
• The incident command system is used on all fire and EMS
• Engine companies are all stocked with advanced life-support medical gear.
A 2008 survey by Ipsos Reid showed 98 per cent of Lethbridge citizens rated fire and ambulance as high in both performance and importance in the community. Public support has been overwhelming in Lethbridge due to the department’s efficient and effective operations. Dependable professional service for more than 125 years has resulted in a sense of pride to the true owners of this service – the taxpayers! Citizens of Lethbridge know that a call for help will bring a team of rescue specialists that may arrive in any type of apparatus. A fleet of vehicles with matching decal packages and uniforms that do not divide roles only adds to this level of community pride. It is not uncommon to see firemedics in the hospital wearing turnout gear after a serious call or hearing a captain describe a mechanism of injury to the ER physicians. It’s what the people have come to expect here.
The ever-increasing demands on emergency services continue to challenge responders. Hazmat, biohazard, medical, technical rescue and other specialties have redefined the role of the firefighter. Closer scrutiny on safety, line-of-duty injury/death, and operational tactics has brought a clearer vision to our duties. In some communities, there may be a response to an incident that could involve several different agencies that each bring a specific specialty. Are these agencies co-operating and operating under one unified command structure? Are they following standardized, evidence-based procedures that match each other? In my opinion it all falls under the umbrella of “hazards.” An all-hazards department that is able to bring the correct response under one umbrella may be in the future.
Is it our responsibility to determine just how these services are provided? Is it professional to dispute on various delivery models when our true role is to provide lifesaving care? Maybe we need to take a step back and re-evaluate our meaning. Either way, respect for both professions is critical. Caring for the public is straightforward when these barriers are removed. Providing dual duty via integrated fire and EMS services may just be the answer.
Until next time . . . be safe.
Lee Sagert is a career paramedic/firefighter with the City of Lethbridge and a volunteer lieutenant with Coaldale Emergency Services. Lee is a former flight paramedic with S.T.A.R.S. and has trained at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Contact him at leesagert@shaw.ca
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SLAVE LAKE FIRESTORM
Inferno moved faster, with more force, than any fire in Canadian history
Wildfires started burning 10 kilometres south of Slave Lake, in northern Alberta, on Saturday, May 14. Several communities west of Slave Lake were put on two-hour evacuation notice. By 5:30 p.m. a second fire had started east of Slave Lake. Residents of Poplar Estates, Mitsue and the Sawridge Indian Band were evacuated. At 10:30 p.m., the Town of Slave Lake declared a state of emergency. The fires burned for days, claiming 480 homes and countless hectares. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Laura King talked with Jamie Coutts, chief of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service, on June 21, a little more than a month after the wildfires, as he continued to replace burned equipment. The fire that consumed Slave Lake moved faster, and with more force – pushed by 100-kilometre-an-hour winds – than any other in recorded Canada history. Coutts’ powerful narrative follows.
By Jamie Coutts, as told to Laura King
It all started on Saturday, May 14, in the afternoon. At around 1:30, I got a text from a friend who said he saw a fire down the hill from where he was at the ski hill, 17 kilometres south of Slave Lake. I passed that on to SRD [Alberta Sustainable Resources Development] and they started to look into it. I could see a smoke column rising.
We decided that SRD would take that call and I would page in all the duty officers for the Lesser Slave Regional Service. In 2008 we had a pretty decent fire burn through, so we’re pretty gun shy, and we decided to bring in the [chief administrative officers] CAOs of the town and region – MD 124 Lesser Slave River – and start some kind of process. While we were waiting for the CAOs, SRD asked us to go and deploy a bunch of sprinkler
kits to two areas, Bayer Road and Gloryland [Estates] – a subdivision south of Slave Lake – and we started to sprinkler those two areas. We got a bunch more calls and had a bunch of people out working, then we got a call for fire out by the airport; we had held back one crew and we sent them to the airport.
While we were down in the [truck] bay looking out to the east – which is the way our doors open – this huge column of smoke went up in Mitsue. The only people left in the hall were myself and my son who is a junior firefighter, so we took the last truck – the third-line pumper – and started heading to the Mitsue area. The guys who were at the airport diverted from that call and headed out to that column as well. They got there first and we took a separate road and tried to spray what we could, but the winds were high and the fire was pushing into Poplar Lane in Mitsue. We left some trucks there to head to the flanks of the fire, and headed to Poplar Lane to start evacuating
the Mitsue area – there were RCMP, peace officers and us doing the evacuation.
At about that time I had called SRD to ask about the fire and they were getting a plane in the air to assess the situation. It was that time of day when it’s crossover – low relative humidity and high heat – so this thing was just cooking through the forest, and it wasn’t like we had time to talk to people, it was “Get out of your home, now,” and it was hard for people to wrap their heads around that. We had a really hard time evacuating people.
Once we got them evacuated, we started fighting the fire, but we couldn’t get ahead of it and we pulled everyone out. It blazed through that residential area for five hours. So we went through a back road and tried to catch up to the back of the fire, and SRD went in and tried to back burn. We fought fires at 10 structures that had been burned that first night, and we saved probably another 10 just by being out there. Through that night, there were SRD crews, the
Photo by Rob Evans
MAIN: The record-breaking wildfire in Slave Lake, Alta., in mid-May, burned a third of the town – including the fire department’s sign –but firefighters saved far more than they lost.
RIGHT: More than 140 Calgary firefighters – some of whom are shown reflected in the pump panel of one of Edmonton’s engines –were among those who joined the Slave Lake firefighting effort in mid-May.
fire department and SRD contractors working the fire; we came back [to Slave Lake] in the morning at 6:30 or 7 to regroup and start figuring out how the day was going to turn out. We had sent half our crew home to sleep, so those guys came back, and basically nobody went home to bed.
We spent the rest of the day sprinklering – the fire that was southwest of the town had grown and people were talking about it overrunning the towns of Widewater and Canyon Creek. We started helping SRD sprinkler those areas while still fighting fires out in Poplar Lane.
Through that day, we had unprecedented support form the public – people were dropping off socks and Gatorade and food and Band-aids – we don’t always get that kind of support so it was pretty overwhelming.
The smoke column south of Slave Lake was fairly small – we were finishing at Bayer Road and Gloryland and Canyon Creek and Widewater – then at 3 p.m. I went to the EOC briefing – they talked about it being a small fire right now and they were working it with planes and helicopters and it seemed manageable; then at 3:30 my phone started to ring off the hook. On my way [out of the EOC] the reeve said the tourist booth one kilometre east of Slave Lake was on fire and we had to evacuate the MD [municipal district] office because it was going to be burned out; within half an hour, the whole outlook on the fire had changed. We went out to the tourist booth and it was being overrun. We recalled all the crews back to Slave Lake from everywhere and told them to set up on 13th Street and 12th Street – these were the last boundaries for us, with the highway and forest from there. We talked about how it was going to get hot and rough and to watch out for people evacuating – at that point our biggest fear was that someone was going to get run over by people evacuating. So we hooked up to hydrants and we started spraying houses. At 4 p.m. it already seemed like it was night – we were smoked in. It was like being in an oven and being sandblasted at the same time.
While that’s going on, the RCMP, SRD, and Fish and Wildlife – they’re all evacuating
the southeast part of town and the fire department just set up for what was coming. Once it hit, there were multiple homes on fire at the same time, multiple hot spots. The SRD guys came back in and started hitting those, the fire department was hitting everything they could with their six trucks. There were too many hot spots and it was moving too fast. I left one neighbourhood where there were probably a dozen homes on fire. The water intake was on fire; six, three-storey apartment buildings were on fire; the town office and government office was on fire; and the hospital was being threatened, so we had to make that call to defend the hospital and let the other ones go. There were 50 calls and six trucks so . . .
Our power was out and our water plant has no backup, so water supplies were dwindling. The wind was measured at 100 kilometres an hour and was being sustained. It was like being in a fire tornado. That fire was measured as the 100th percentile – there has never been a fire in Canadian history that moved as fast, and with as much force, in such a short time [according to the SRD].
For me, in a 20-year career being surrounded by a forest fire and having our community threatened dozens of times – Slave Lake is a defend-in-place community; we have the lake on one side, a huge opening on the other side and winds that never get to this – we’ve always had bomber and helicopter supply from SRD. But all the bombers were grounded at 7 p.m. due to wind. And there’s our six trucks and guys, and we’re into 36 hours straight now.
So from there, we put out an all-call through our dispatch system and asked for anyone within 200 kilometres of Slave Lake to respond as best they could: We said, our town is on fire and we’re not going to be able to put it out without help. They dispatch for 33 fire departments – I said call them all and see who will come. At the same time, the EOC put out a call to the province and the province was sending in unbelievable resources. The first resources arrived at about 10 p.m. from out of town, and they basically got tasked into wherever the hot spots were at that time; the first crews went into the north part of town, where we were using bulldozers to hold the line.
Continued on page 18
P hoto by Rob Evans
RIT – practical applications
By Mark van der Feyst
When a mayday firefighter requires the rapid intervention team, there is a nine-step process that must be followed once contact has been made. The process helps the RIT to quickly assess the situation and the mayday firefighter. The nine steps are as follows:
• locate and turn off PASS device
• radio command
• check breathing
• check pressure gauge
• change bottle/air supply
• check breathing
• check for entrapment
• secure bottle/air supply
• remove firefighter
Locate and turn off PASS device
When the rapid intervention team locates and makes contact with the mayday firefighter, team members will need to quickly locate the PASS device and silence the alarm as seen in photo 1. This will allow RIT members to communicate more easily with command and with one another. The noise of the PASS device affects radio communication and the incident commander will not be able to hear the transmissions. The noise also adds to the overall stress level of RIT members.
Radio command
Command needs to know as soon as contact with the mayday firefighter has been made. The information relayed to command will aid in the overall operation. Requests for additional resources can be made at this time. The status of the mayday firefighter can also be relayed to command. RIT members should pay careful attention to what information is transmitted over the radio regarding the mayday firefighter. Avoid using the name and condition of the firefighter. Instead, relay simple, concise reports to command, such as not breathing, entangled, trapped or buried by debris.
Check breathing
One RIT member will check the breathing status of the mayday firefighter. Putting an ear to the face piece allows a RIT member to hear any air exchange between the SCBA and the firefighter. If there are breathing sounds, then
Photo 1: The noise of the PASS device affects radio communication, so it is essential to locate and silence it as soon as the mayday firefighter has been located.
Photo 2: It’s hard to tell the difference between a wire and a low- or high-pressure air line, so be sure to verify what you are cutting before you make the cut.
we know that the mayday firefighter is still breathing and we can carry on with the rest of the assessment. If no breathing sounds are present, then a grab-and-go operation should be immediately initiated. Getting the firefighter out of the danger area and providing prompt medical attention is the priority at this point.
Check pressure gauge
RIT members need to check the air-supply status of the mayday firefighter as shown in
photo 3. Checking the bottle gauge will tell you how much air is available and will provide a true picture of how much air is left. Checking only the chest gauge can result in a false reading, particularly if the SCBA is damaged. If the air supply is below half, RIT members should either augment the air supply or change the air bottle. If the air supply is above half, it is best to use up the air supply in the SCBA until it reaches the halfway mark before attaching any RIT kit connection or changing the bottle.
Photos
3: During assessment, it’s essential to check the air supply of the mayday firefighter. If the air supply is below half, the air supply should be augmented or the air bottle should be changed. If above half, continue using the air in the SCBA until it reaches the halfway mark before changing the bottle or attaching a RIT connection.
Change air bottle/air supply
With the air supply below half, RIT members need to re-establish the air supply. This can be accomplished either by changing the air bottle over to the RIT kit air bottle, or by connecting the RIT air line to the RIT connector on the back of the SCBA. The deciding factor is whether the SCBA has a RIT connector on the back. If the SCBA has a RIT connection, hooking up the RIT kit will crash fill the SCBA on the mayday firefighter’s back, which may cause the cylinder to rupture. This is not a popular option because of the potential danger.
Check breathing
Once the air-supply issue has been resolved, a RIT member needs to listen for signs of breathing and air exchange between the firefighter and the SCBA, as in the process mentioned above.
Check for entrapment
Another RIT member will need to check the mayday firefighter for entanglements, including wiring, suspended ceiling grid, HVAC equipment, debris, and anything else that may impede removal. Sweep the mayday firefighter from top to bottom to check for any entanglements and carefully remove all entanglements. If using wire cutters to cut away wiring, verify what you are cutting before making the cut, as shown in photo 2. It can be difficult to distinguish between a wire and a low- or high-pressure air line.
Secure bottle/air supply
The air supply that is augmenting the may-
day firefighter needs to be secured to the mayday firefighter. Whether using a RIT kit or just a plain SCBA, it needs to be secured before removal can begin. Lay the RIT kit or SCBA in the lap of the mayday firefighter, parallel with his legs. Use a large carabiner to attach the air supply to the SCBA waist strap of the mayday firefighter’s SCBA to ensure that it will not slip.
Remove firefighter
Removing the mayday firefighter can be accomplished in a number of ways. We will look at these different ways in more detail in the coming issues. The important factor to remember is speed and care of removal. The quicker the rapid intervention team removes the mayday firefighter, the better the chance he or she will receive prompt medical attention. Care must also be emphasized; we do not want to aggravate injuries or create new ones for the mayday firefighter.
Practising these nine steps is essential to the success of any mayday firefighter rescue.
Mark van der Feyst is a 12-year veteran of the fire service. He currently works for the City of Woodstock Fire Department in Ontario. Mark is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States and India. He is a local-level suppression instructor for the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, an instructor for the Justice Institute of British Columbia and a professor of fire science at Lambton College. E-mail him at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.
Photo
Photo by
it’s 3 a.m. – do you know where your firefighters are?
Ten years ago, the Ontario government legislated the amalgamation of all Ottawa-area cities and municipalities, creating one of Canada’s largest fire departments covering 2,800 square kilometres, with 43 fire stations (27 urban and 16 rural), 1,000 full-time firefighters and administrative staff, and 400 parttime firefighters and staff. We set about to harmonize policies, strategies and tactics. I was asked to head a committee responsible for developing an accountability system that would address the needs of this new, large, composite fire service.
The committee quickly agreed that we would initially develop a hybrid system that fundamentally incorporated the ones used in our former departments, but we would adopt a more advanced electronic accountability system as soon as time, money and technology permitted.
It was our belief that if bar codes and radio frequency (RFID) chips could be used to track packages anywhere in the world, and differentiate between good guys and bad guys in theatres of war, then it made sense to apply the same technology to track our firefighters at an operation with an emphasis on those at the greatest risk operating in the hot zone.
In the ensuing years, our hybrid system evolved to address the needs of our firefighters, and as of this writing, we are still developing easier ways to manage tags and photo cards in the hope that we will be able to find out the exact location and assignment of any members or crews who get into trouble.
hensive accountability system. The fundamental first step to ensure that we have our firefighters’ backs is compliance at all levels of the organization. Chiefs enforce, firefighters comply, and nobody gets to freelance – as it takes only a single member operating outside the incident scene management (ISM) process to undermine everyone else’s efforts to manage the operation and track the location and assignment of companies.
Peter HUNt
In our dangerous work environments, technology must complement the efforts of command, accountability and the dispatcher.
Throughout this process, our chiefs have been generous with time and money, and we have assigned an entire pump crew (an officer and three firefighters) to manage accountability at most operations. Sadly, the much-anticipated magic bullet we had hoped for has not yet been developed by industry.
To be honest, I didn’t take accountability very seriously before I was handed this assignment, and older readers will remember that accountability didn’t exist in any form until well into the 1990s. My attitude changed dramatically when I fully realized the legal, moral and ethical responsibilities assumed by departments to comply with the vague legislation that requires them to have an accountability system and to create a comprehensive process that would actually work and stand up to the scrutiny of an accident or line-of-dutydeath investigation.
Firefighters continue to be injured and killed at unacceptable rates, and we all know that on the fast-paced, unpredictable and inherently risky fire ground, a breakdown in one or all of three key areas – command, accountability and communications – is often to blame.
While every department I know has a good handle on the incident command process, many jurisdictions continue to struggle with the development and subsequent enforcement of a compre-
In our dangerous work environments, technology must complement the efforts of command, accountability and the dispatcher (who must have a formal role and training in the ISM process). RFID chips showing the real-time location of firefighters in three dimensions, SCBA telemetry monitoring breathing air levels and mayday buttons that send positive identification must become standard equipment for all departments.
Many jurisdictions simply can’t afford the kind of system I am advocating. However, there is good reason to be optimistic. Most SCBA manufacturers now offer the kind of telemetry I refer to, and it’s getting more reliable and affordable all the time. In addition, the Fire Department of New York has recently implemented a trial RFID-based personnel tracking program for some of its 11,000 members. It only stands to reason that industry will recognize the market and the profit that exists in the fire service for this kind of technology.
In the meantime, while we call on manufacturers to develop effective, affordable electronic accountability systems for our members, we must work tirelessly toward a culture of safety that ensures strict compliance with accepted safe practices.
In addition, I encourage chiefs to take a serious look at their own departments’ accountability systems. Are you merely complying with your obligation to have a system, or will it stand up under the toughest scrutiny? Does your accountability system complement your command system with a continuous exchange of information at an operation? Have you formalized your dispatchers’ roles in the process by ensuring that they can conduct a personnel accountability report if a crisis prevents on-scene members from doing so?
As with so many other safety and survival issues in the fire service, we can never rest until we have achieved the best equipment, systems, policies and practices for our members.
While there is nothing exciting about the accountability process, we must approach it as though lives are at stake . . . because they are.
Peter Hunt, a 30-year veteran of the fire service is a captain in the Ottawa Fire Department’s suppression division. He can be reached at peter.hunt@rogers.com
Slave Lake firestorm
Continued from page 9
• • •
Fire Fighting in Canada did a story [in December 2009] after Kelowna burned up and [Kelowna Assistant Chief Lou Wilde] talked about having to choose this house or that house [and having to make the decision to let some burn], and I credit that article for helping me understand that we had to do something different than we had ever done before; we had to send Cats and excavators into neighbourhoods to knock down burning houses – and I want that to be in this story for the next guy who is in my position, so that when it’s like this and everything is different, you have to know that when you’re in that position it’s OK to make those kinds of decisions . . . I 100 per cent credit that article with helping me understand that.
That stopped the head of the fire – but to use a Cat in a neighbourhood to knock down houses and put in fire lines and smash down trees, when you’re an urban fire chief you just can’t get to that point, mentally, without having had some help from someone who had been there before . . . Out in our rural areas, I’ve worked that process before but not in an urban setting.
As these resources started to come in, timing was everything; some got there and helped save one of the schools in the northwest. Some helped with the Cat guard through the town office and the mall – we drove a Cat through the middle of that and reinforced that line. Some got here in time to stop the spread of fire in the southeast, which was the most heavily damaged. Even the Telus building caught on fire, so we had to put that out or communications would have been lost. At about the same time, the fire is getting into Widewater and Canyon Creek, and the water plant was threatened, so we had to get that put out. Houses were burning down at the same time that the Widewater fire hall burned down, and the firefighters were there and pulled out whatever they could and moved on to the next house. •
Through all of this, seven of our firefighters lost their homes, and they all knew that their homes were gone but through the night they never took their foot off the gas . . . So when you talk about the courage of a volunteer firefighter . . . I was a volunteer firefighter for a long time before I was a career firefighter, but that’s the stuff that amazes me. In honesty, for most of us, we were all working in different parts of town and the smoke was incredible and you couldn’t see your hand in front of
your face; I would safely say that 70 per cent of us thought our homes had burned but there was no time to find out.
When we were on 12th and 13th streets, we took a time out and everybody was to contact their families and find out where they were and if they couldn’t they were to leave the line and go find out where they were. Texting was still working really well. A lot of them sent their families to the fire hall. It was like the Alamo – the last-stand position – and no matter what, their families were going to be safe there. That’s another thing about firefighters – they do some of the most awful things, but you can only do them if you know your family is safe. There were some people who had to leave with their families – some families were too big for one person to handle or there was just too much stress – and that’s OK. That had to happen.
I had 62 people, firefighters from all four of our regional fire halls; the two farthest are 125 kilometres apart and they cover 10,000 square kilometres. They’re spread out. At 7 p.m. we had drawn some lines on a map and had set out some defensive perimeters; we were trying to hold those perimeters and we didn’t want any damage outside those perimeters. I think we lost two homes outside of that, so we did some good work holding those lines. Throughout the night we had one injury that is worth noting – they were knocking tress down with Cats – and [Capt.] Ken Bolan, he said he thought it was a 90-foot tree and it turned out to be a 130-foot tree and it punched him into the ground – he was pretty smashed up. There were more injuries but not serious like this one – just scraped up arms hands and feet – so when people were bringing us socks and Band-aids and we thought they were crazy, they actually knew what they were doing!
Another thing – these guys were all out fighting wildfires in coveralls and wildland gear; their structural firefighting gear never even got put on them until they got back to the hall and went back out – at first most of those guys were fighting in coveralls and shoes or boots and didn’t have all the protective gear on.
• • •
From the time [the fire] was on one side of the highway until it was burning the town was half an hour . . . At one point the Grande Prairie dispatcher called our 911 people and said, “I have 31 calls in the queue . . .” These women [in dispatch] are as tough as nails – they never panic – but you could hear it in their voices. It was as bad as anyone had ever seen.
At about 2:30 in the morning, a new IC showed up and some of the Edmonton people
Jamie Coutts, chief of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service, presented Calgary Deputy Chief Len MacCharles with a “fire ninja” ball cap during a ceremony on June 20. MacCharles acted as incident commander during the wildfire in Slave Lake in mid-May.
showed up and started telling us about huge numbers of people – to this point some of the smaller communities had sent two people or 10 people or a pumper or a tanker – now the masses were going to show up, and they got here at around 3:30 a.m. – people rolled into town and we got some of our people who had been up for 48 hours out of there and got people into areas that we hadn’t even been in for hours, and of course we had to set up a drafting system from the river because the hydrants were ineffective; we got that drafting system going in the river, we got more tankers and wildland trucks into the neighbourhoods, and all the defensive perimeters were being held at the time. So then [the goal] was to close in from the perimeter to the fire and start drawing some smaller perimeters around neighbourhoods that were on fire but needed to be put out.
At that point, we’d been getting our butts kicked for about 48 hours and that was the first time we all talked and said it’s time to stop talking and worrying about all that we lost and start figuring out what we’re going to win back here. It wasn’t until the sun came up that we all started to realize where everyone had been and the areas that everyone had worked on and to understand the damage and know what we had saved rather than what we had lost. Then, the focus from that point forward was, let’s make sure what we saved stays that way at all costs. So it was dig in, figure it out. IC Darryl Reid from Strathcona County – he was working with the fire chief from Spruce Grove and a
district chief from Edmonton – and the three of them went to work and started marking off sector areas and making a plan for all these areas, and then we got the call that Calgary was coming with their task force of 144 people and IC [and Deputy Chief] Len MacCharles would be there.
I snuck off and got about an hour of sleep, then when Calgary got there mid-morning, for the IC and the whole crew into the evening, the big thing was to work with them to figure out where we could do overland hydrant systems to figure out how to put out all the smouldering basements; then, every day at 3 p.m., the winds would pick up to incredible speeds and the humidity would drop and the temperatures would rise, so every day we would have to man up to incredible levels to make sure we could put out the hot spots. And you have to remember that while this was happening in town, out in Widewater and Canyon Creek, all those areas are being . . . this whole area was 45 kilometres long and there were dozens of homes being burned in the MD [municipal district]. The [firefighters from] Edmonton, their first 24 hours were basically spent out in the MD fighting house fires and ground fires.
We kept local people embedded in every crew so there was someone who could get an address to or find a water supply – there were people who went 48 hours with no sleep, then got a few hours, then went 72 more with no sleep. I got six hours in the first five 24hour days, and that was pretty typical.
What you learn is that the body can take an unbelievable lot of abuse when it has to. Our eyes were all red like a fire truck. There was no power, and no gas, so for four days no one had a shower. In most of the areas, the firefighters would go to the hotel – and would let themselves in – and go to their assigned room in the dark, sleep, and then they would come back with no shower and go back to work. And as the days progressed ATCO Electric and ACTO Gas got power and gas and we hauled a shower shack in beside the fire hall and Wednesday night at midnight was the first shower – I thought I had a pretty good tan going but it all washed off!
On Wednesday [the EOC] gave us lists –to get people back in town this is what each agency has to do. The lists took up a whole wall in a conference room. So everybody got a list – this is what the fire department is going to do, this what public works is going to do –everybody got their list.
In the media it was all very negative – the town had burned down and what are these people are going to do? So the fire department said we are going to put the message out to these media that want to do just negative news, and we’re going to talk about how much is left and how much we saved. We’re going to do Facebook and YouTube and we wanted to get out the message that we saved as much as we could – businesses, critical infrastructure – we just have to get it to the point that we can get everyone back into town. Miles and miles of fencing had to be put up. Every basement had to be excavated and scraped down to get the fires out. There were more than 480 houses burned in Slave Lake and the MD.
Every day you could get these crazy winds and hot temperatures and we would have flareups in the MD and we had to stop any more houses from being lost out there. By then, the firefighters were very committed to zero losses. We lost our last house on Tuesday and by then everybody was committed to no more losses, and if there’s a puff of smoke we’re sending 10 trucks – I think at that point there were 30 rigs and 300 firefighters.
Edmonton and Calgary were doing 12 on and 12 off; the smaller departments were 12- or 14- or 16-hour days, whatever it turned out to be. During the day we were really hammering it; the new ICs had set up straight teams – there would be eight trucks sitting out at Canadian Tire on the highway and they would just get dispatched out for whatever was going on; our local and Calgary dispatchers handled it because we lost Grande Prairie dispatch in all this.
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I went to one meeting inside the fire hall – about 30 firefighters would be a big meeting for us – and one night there was 200 listening to a briefing. Two-hundred firefighters sitting there and you could have heard a pin drop – they all wanted to hear what SRD wanted to say; they needed to know that things were going better.
We finally all worked through our lists and then got a call that everybody has to send a representative to Main Street in Slave Lake for the big announcement. It was so surreal – there were no street lights at night, no kids yelling and screaming, no dogs barking, no sounds except the people who were working – so there were a few hundred people in a town where there used to be several thousand, and the focus is just get the people back.
From the start of the fire until the first wave of people were allowed back was two weeks – we had been told it would be six weeks, then eight weeks. Everybody just drove themselves into the ground to get the people back. That was all that mattered.
We set up our huge ladder truck with our 30-by-50-foot flag and watched people come back into town. That was huge for us. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
• • •
Parkland and Peace River were last crews to go home; we had a tiered response by the third week – the volunteers were working nights and the others were covering days. On the Friday of the third week after the fire, Parkland and Peace River went home – and that day it snowed, if you can imagine. In the first 24 hours after returning to normal we responded to six calls – car accidents, flare-ups – it went back to usual.
And everywhere else in the world, a Slave Lake forest fire didn’t burn down their town and if people hadn’t read newspapers or seen it on TV they didn’t know, so salespeople would call and people were going about their business and I would get e-mails asking why I hadn’t replied or returned calls. It was very weird . . .
• • •
Over at the EOC – we actually went to them and said we’d had enough of the negative media and asked how we could flip this around. We were sick and tired of watching our town on the news and them saying everything’s lost and we had no hope, and we didn’t want that. As a group of firefighters, we said let’s change the message, and everybody went about that in their own way; lots of guys hit Facebook and Twitter, and we went to the EOC and said, can you help us out with some positive messages? We’d been asked hundreds of times to be interviewed but there wasn’t time, and we decided that this was going to go on for weeks and we just had to make time. [Coutts took time with government PR people to make videos praising his firefighters and all emergency responder and services.]
• • •
Personally, we’re back at ’er. There are lots of decisions to be made as a fire chief. I was busy trying to make sure the health of the firefighters was being looked after. My 15-year-old son worked every day through this with us. My wife works in HR for the town; our 11-yearold daughter helped to take care of animals and the firefighters who came in. The fire chief’s job is to look out for everybody, and that didn’t change. It’s just busier now.
Lessons learned – well, that will come. Having a 300-person fire department before the fire comes would help!
We’re going to have to pre-plan this area a lot more carefully now. We never thought this could happen – Slave Lake was a defend-in-place community but we couldn’t do that. This won’t be our last forest fire; this won’t even be our last forest fire this year, so we have to find a way, quickly, to take care of these areas.
We’re going to have to work more closely with SRD – we already had a good relationship. We’re going to have to make sure that
our new equipment that comes is more user friendly and adequate. We need back-up power in our critical infrastructure – water, fire halls. Our EOC burned down so we need to figure out where the EOC is going to be and how to manage that.
We had had a 70 per cent failure rate on our hoses that were used and a 60 per cent failure in our gear, from the heat – holes the size of toonies burned into our hoses. Embers – anything on the truck that had embers land on it was burned. Our gear is fire retardant, it’s not fireproof – so when hot embers land on it, it burns. The reflectors burn off.
This has changed the whole way that our fire department operates. We were always a stay-ahead department – if one truck is good we send two, if two trucks are good we send three, and we can, because it’s regional.
What could we do differently? Nobody expected the wind to be 100 kilometres an hour, sustained. Nobody expected the bombers and the helicopters to not be able to help us. Our community is fed from three areas for power – nobody expected all three to be burned, so we didn’t think it in the realm of possibility to lose all three; we have to get rid of that term –everything is now in the realm of possibility – and we have to develop a whole new possibility of what could happen. We do table tops just like other departments – we take things to the extremes – but in our table tops, this was never in the realm of possibility.
The biggest lesson learned is we have to plan farther – when you’re in wildland areas the world is changing, the weather in the world is changing, and we have to plan with that change.
That time period for Slave Lake is historically a rainy time. Our town burned down in unbelievable temperatures, then we went to snow and then to flooding. In a six-week period we went from fire to snow to floods. So if people don’t think the weather is changing . . .
There were 700 firefighters from 30 different fire departments that helped out. We couldn’t have done it without all those people.
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Cooking for a cause
Firefighters have built a positive reputation in their communities. Not only do we respond to citizens during their times of need, but also we stand by our duty of giving back in the form of charity work. As firefighters, we donate different forms of expertise and countless hours of our time to ensure our reputations as community servants stand strong. From food and toy drives during holiday seasons, to car washes, fashion shows and charity barbecues, we often go above and beyond for causes that are close to our hearts.
Waterloo Fire Rescue has had tremendous success auctioning our culinary skills for charities and offering gourmet dinners at the fire hall. The day often includes an entertaining tour of the station, with the opportunity for winning bidders to try on our gear and climb aboard the trucks, and generally culminates with a famous fire-hall meal. This allows citizens to catch a glimpse of the fire-hall lifestyle. Our adult guests often react much the same as children do when they visit our fire hall; their faces light up as they experience a day in the life of a firefighter. They are often delighted to see the fire-hall camaraderie, especially when all members of our team pitch in to create the meal and make their stay special.
Waterloo’s reputation for these dinners now precedes us, as guests have spread the word throughout the community. We have been fortunate to generate more than $10,000 in just a few years by welcoming the public into our fire house and treating them to something special for dinner. The big question is always what to serve our guests. In most cases, these individuals have paid large sums of money in support of charities and we definitely want to wow them, so we pull out all the stops, including those fancy, special-occasion recipes. Input from your guests about the menu gives the event a personalized touch and will ensure that the winning bidders have the best possible experience. Depending on your crowd, you could host a backyard barbecue, perhaps an all hors d’oeuvres menu, or even an ethnic-inspired theme,
Patrick Mathieu is an 11-year veteran of Waterloo Fire Rescue. He has won several cooking competitions and has helped raise thousands of dollars for charities by auctioning gourmet dinners at the fire hall. Contact him at patrickmathieu78@yahoo.ca
Bordeaux-braised beef shanks serves
6
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 (1-inch thick) beef shanks, about 3 lbs total
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2 large carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb button mushrooms, stems trimmed
• 8 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Directions:
• 2 1/2 cups good quality French Bordeaux
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 (15-oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1. In a large Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over high heat until very hot.
2. Season shanks liberally on both sides with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, transfer to Dutch oven and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer shanks to a plate and set aside. Add onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 7 minutes.
3. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Bordeaux and stir well with a wooden spoon, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any bits. Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beef stock, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper and stir well to combine.
4. Return shanks to the Dutch oven and bring sauce to a boil. Cover Dutch oven, lower heat to a simmer or place in a 149 C (300 F) oven and cook for 5 hours, stirring occasionally, or until shanks are very tender. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary. Enjoy!
Photo by Pat R ick Mathi E u
This delicious dish of Bordeaux-braised beef shanks, paired with a duck a l’orange salad, is a tasty gourmet combination sure to wow your guests.
of the
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Booth: N5-120
Booth: 8317
Duck a l’orange salad with brie
serves 6
Ingredients
• 3 duck breasts
• salt and pepper
• 1 juicing orange
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp orange-flavoured liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Directions:
• 1 1/2 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
Salad ingredients
• mixed baby greens
• 1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
• red onion, sliced thin and soaked in cold water for a few minutes
• handful of fresh raspberries
• 1 block of brie cheese, cut into slices
• 1/2 baguette for croutons
• salt and pepper
Vinaigrette ingredients
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1 juicing orange
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
1. Score the skin side of the duck breasts in 2 directions. Season the breasts liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Juice the orange, strain the juice into a saucepan, and boil it until it’s reduced to about 1 tbsp.
3. Heat a sauté pan over medium to high heat and sauté the duck breasts, skin side down for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook for 2 minutes until medium rare inside. Tent duck breasts with foil and set aside. Reserve some duck fat.
4. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Cut baguette into cubes and toss with the reserved duck fat and salt and pepper. Bake on a cookie sheet for 6 minutes, or until toasted. Set aside to cool down.
5. Deglaze the pan with the orange juice and broth. Add the sugar, liqueur and vinegar, and simmer until reduced to half. Whisk in the cold butter until all the butter melts. Season to taste with pepper and salt.
6. Combine all ingredients for vinaigrette in a bowl and whisk well, set aside.
7. In a large bowl, toss greens with vinaigrette. Top with the rest of the salad ingredients. Thinly slice the duck breasts, place warm slices on salad and spoon the sauce over the breasts. Enjoy!
such as Thai or French. Let your creative juices flow and show your guests that your talents as a firefighter exceed the fire ground. The worthy charities benefit from all the hard work in the end. Before you know it, your community will be wishing your fire house were open for dinner every night.
Here are two of my recipes that have wowed our guests and kept them bidding year after year.
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By Randy Schmitz
MMoving a vehicle to access a victim
any of us have responded to calls at which patients are trapped inside their vehicles against trees, hydro poles or other vehicles. If rescuers could access victims from the damaged side of the vehicle, extrication could be a snap, but the only way to do that is to move the vehicle off the impinging object. Rescuers have been told for years never to move a vehicle with a victim inside. Generally, I agree with this concept but there are exceptions to every rule. However, extrication instructors do not want emergency responders to believe that the solution to pinned or trapped patients begins with moving the vehicle. Moving the vehicle is an option but it is the exception, not the rule.
When is it appropriate to consider moving a vehicle with a patient inside? A lot of extrications seem to have gone well without having to do this, but was it an option at the time? Should rescuers consider this option earlier in the extrication process? What if the patient’s condition takes a turn for the worse and requires rapid extrication?
Rapid extrication
Rapid extrication refers to a life-over-limb situation. A proper definition of rapid extrication is the removal of a patient as quickly and safely as possible from a harmful environment or a life-threatening situation, using the maximum packaging and stabilization that the situation will allow. Rapid extrication, which is also called load and go, is based on the victim’s condition. Life-threatening injuries necessitate rapid extrication, which should include manual spinal immobilization, the loading of the patient on a backboard, and transportation of the patient, ideally within 10 minutes of arriving on scene.
A vehicle with live patients inside can be moved in a controlled manner. This has often been done in under-ride type situations with semi-trailers, but how far can rescuers go with this notion? If the extrication path you choose for your patient is estimated to between 25 and 30 minutes and medical personnel are suggesting the patient may succumb to injuries before then, what have you got to lose? If moving a vehicle to allow access to the impacted side reduces the extrication time by 15 minutes, isn’t it worth a try? Rescuers also cannot forget that they may need to create space on the impacted side away from an object, just to push out metal that is trapping the patient’s feet, legs or head. Rescuers can’t remove a patient whose arm is caught between the seat, with a door and then a pole on the other side.
The photos, from a simulated crash, show a vehicle that has hit a concrete barrier (see photo 1). We’ll assume that there is a patient trapped in the driver’s seat with head, shoulder, pelvic and rib injuries on the left side, and who must be removed from the vehicle immediately due to the severity of the injuries; this situation warrants rapid removal or a load-and-go protocol. As always, perform scene safety, provide initial vehicle stabilization for medical personnel entry, do a complete patient assessment, and an electrical system shutdown.
The first step is to assess which end of the vehicle will be moved away from the impending object. This depends whether the impact is closer to the engine end or rear end of the vehicle. In this case, we will attempt to slide the rear of the vehicle away from the barrier, because that end of the car will be lighter and easier to move. This will also give
us a good spot at which to position our hydraulic tools.
Step two requires a hydraulic spreader, a five-centimetre, 1,360kilogram-rated ratchet strap, absorbent material (or an equivalent substance) to reduce friction, a flat object (such as a piece of Lexan or puck board or a back board), and a scoop shovel (see photo 2).
The rescuers’ goal is to transfer the vehicle’s weight to the passenger-side rear tire and use the tire as a slide mechanism to carefully move the vehicle. The absorbent material shown in photo 2 will act like tiny ball bearings or pebbles underneath the tire to reduce the friction from the rubber tire and the underlying surface. Apply the absorbant material at an angle in the direction to which the rear end of the vehicle is likely
Photo 1: Generally, vehicles with victims trapped inside should never be moved, but under special circumstances where rapid extrication is required, moving the vehicle is an option.
Photo 2: Place a flat object, such as a piece of Lexan plastic or even a back board, underneath the tire as a slide mechanism, and apply absorbent material to reduce friction.
Photo 3: Place the hydraulic spreader near the lower rocker panel and slightly lift the rear of the vehicle to easily insert the puck board to protect the bottom of the tire from the pavement.
Photos
to move, in an area 1.5 to two metres long and half a metre wide.
Next, place the hydraulic spreader as close as possible to the passenger rear tire. Insert the spreader tips near the lower rocker panel to slightly lift the back of the vehicle and allow the thin, puck board to be easily inserted between the bottom of the tire and the friction-reducing material and the ground/pavement (see photo 3).
Before lifting the rear tire off the ground, you may consider hooking the five-centimetre ratchet strap from one rear tire to the other in slots of the rim, and ratcheting the suspension system in its current position to lock the vehicle in place. This will ensure the suspension travels with the body of the car and will minimize the distance the rear of the vehicle will have to be lifted so the puck board can be inserted under the tire (shown in photo 4). If the space between the rocker and the ground/pavement is significant, you may insert a step chock on its side (see photo 5) and place the spreader tips on top of the chock to reduce the distance.
Open the spreader tips slowly to make contact with the rocker panel
and the ground/pavement. Carefully and slowly start to lift at the rocker panel area and continue until there is just enough room to slide the puck board/hard protection under the tire. Do not allow the tool to twist and slip off the rocker panel, as this will cause unwanted movement to your patient. Slowly let the spreader arms close together, letting the rear tire back down onto the puck board.
Next, reposition the operator and the spreader at the rocker area near the driver-side rear tire on the impacted side of the vehicle. This time, instead of actually lifting the rear of the vehicle, orientate the hydraulic spreader at a 45-degree angle and in the direction you want the vehicle to move (see photo 6). This orientation will push the vehicle forward rather than upward. Position the top spreader tip against the rocker and the bottom tip on the ground/pavement. Carefully and slowly start to open up the spreader arms and push the vehicle away from the impacted
Photo 4: Hook the ratchet strap from one rear tire, over the trunk to the other rear tire to reduce the distance the vehicle will have to be lifted to insert the puck board.
Photo 5: Place a step chock on its side to keep the hydraulic spreader off the ground and avoid damage.
Photos
By Todd Aitken
AGetting fit in the fire hall
Creating a functional gym in an unconventional space
fire-hall gym, whether it’s in a volunteer department or a career hall, must meet the needs of its users. The equipment must handle a variety of exercises and be quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate the intensity and complexity of the exercises. Versatility is key; portable equipment that can be set up and used almost anywhere is ideal. And, of course, budget is an issue.
I was involved in the design and development of the gym at Scugog Township Station 1, in Port Perry, Ont. Scugog Township is 65 kilometres northeast of Toronto, with a population of 22,000 and a land area of 475 square kilometres. In 2005, the fire department went from part-time to composite with the hiring of its first two full-time suppression staff. Today, there are six full-time staff and 47 volunteer (or paid, on-call/parttime) firefighters responding from two fire stations, one in Port Perry and the other in Caesarea. Last year, the fire department responded to 780 calls.
Here’s how we set up a fully functional fire-hall gym to meet the needs of our firefighters and keep them in tip-top shape.
Shortly after the fire hall was rebuilt in 2001, the part-time firefighters approached Fire Chief Richard Miller about the possibility of building a gym in the mezzanine, which, at that time, was being used for storage. We were fortunate to have firefighters who, as carpenters, painters and electricians, were willing to do a lot of the work. The gym came together relatively easily, since everyone pitched in and offered their time, effort and expertise. We were also fortunate to have a suitable room that (with some work and planning) developed into a good training area.
“I think it is great that the firefighters took it upon themselves to build a gym,” said Chief Miller. “It is a great way to not only prepare yourself for an emergency, but it also builds camaraderie and teamwork.”
The mezzanine area was still needed for storage, so we added a closet and a cupboard to house the extra gear. We were left with a six-metre by 7.3-metre room for gym use. After we painted the walls and the department arranged for the installation of rubber flooring, we were ready to buy the equipment. We wanted the equipment to be suitable for all fitness levels and to accommodate several firefighters at a time. We had about $2,000 to work with, from the chief’s budget and money raised by the Port Perry Firefighters Association.
We elected to buy portable, functional-based equipment. We wanted equipment that could easily be adapted to suit the workout style of those using it. Functional equipment is more reasonably priced than machines, which are often expensive and bulky. In addition, functional-based equipment is for full-body training. This met the needs of everyone who would use the gym; we were looking for equipment designed to strengthen the entire body, as opposed to using several machines that are usually designed to strengthen just one particular muscle group.
is a full-body or whole-body movement that activates the core and improves balance. This movement increases the metabolic output and calorie expenditure by activating a lot of muscle groups.
Photos
The Scugog fire department in Ontario purchased portable, functionalbased equipment that is best for full-body training and can be adapted to meet the needs of everyone using it.
Scugog, Ont., firefighter Don Buldyke performs a multi-joint (bending his knees, hips and ankles) squat-to-row on the BOSU with a smart toner. This
Buldyke works his hamstrings, glutes and core with a single leg lift on the BOSU balance trainer. The BOSU is great for performing other flooror bench-based exercises, including sit-ups and pushups.
Functional training builds bodies from the inside out, allowing for a greater focus on training for specific firefighting activities, such as raising and lowering ladders, advancing hose lines, lifting or carrying victims, using heavy hydraulic tools or carrying a hose pack up stairs.
Initially, we bought a rack with a pull-up bar, an Olympic bar, free-weights, a set of five-pound to 60-pound dumbbells, a BOSU balance trainer, a stability ball, a skipping rope and a reconditioned, commercial treadmill.
Over the years, additional equipment was purchased and firefighters from Port Perry and Caesarea donated some of their own pieces of equipment, such as a stationary bike for cardio training; a TRX suspension trainer for full-body training; smart toners for chest presses, rows, bicep curls and other exercises; a hyperextension machine for the glutes and lower back; and a dip station for the chest (pectorals) and triceps. We also added a TV, a stereo, a water cooler, a fan, a clock and mirrors.
Functional equipment is typically found in athletic training centres rather than in fitness and health clubs. Because of this, several firefighters hadn’t used certain pieces of equipment, so some initial training on the functional equipment was required. After a couple of sessions, during which I introduced the equipment to the firefighters and demonstrated functional exercises, the members gradually began to buy into the concept of functional training.
Traditional gyms focus on developing and improving cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and body composition. Strength is developed through repetitive overloading of a muscle. On the other hand, athletic, functional training is movement based, incorporating speed, agility, anaerobic conditioning, power, balance, core stability, quickness and functional strength.
“Functional training is a lot harder than it looks,” says Scugog firefighter Don Buldyke. “It uses a lot of muscles to stabilize the body.”
Buldyke notes that he had been watching a television program about the way pro hockey players train in the off season and was impressed to see them using the same equipment we have in our gym.
Many fire halls do not have the luxury of a dedicated room for fitness training. A makeshift fitness centre is often set up in the training room or at the back of the bays. If this is your only
Photo
performs a multi-joint squat/chest press with a smart toner on the BOSU balance trainer. This exercise helps develop the pushing muscles (chest, triceps and shoulders) and legs.
option, here is a list of equipment that can be set up very quickly, almost anywhere. This equipment can be used to improve entire body strength and core stability (check your local athletic supply store for prices).
BOSU balance trainers: BOSU is an acronym for both sides up. You can use the BOSU to perform floor- or benchbased exercises, such as lunges, pushups and squats. Use the BOSU with other pieces of equipment to integrate balance with strength training.
Ballast ball: This is an anti-burst stability ball that can be used on its own for a complete workout, or in conjunction with other pieces of equipment to improve core stability and balance.
TRX suspension trainer: This piece of equipment was developed by U.S. Navy Seals to help them remain in peak condition. Users at all fitness levels can perform functional exercises to improve strength, power, flexibility and mobility. It is a full-body workout with body weight acting as the resistance.
Smart toners: These bands are available in a variety of resistance levels, ranging from 4.5 to 30 kilograms (10 to 55 pounds). The toners are ideal pieces of equipment to build strength and rotary power; they add resistance throughout
the whole movement. They are ideal for pushing/pulling exercises, such as chest presses and rows. Standing on a BOSU while performing a chest press increases the complexity and intensity of the exercise by introducing instability.
Medicine balls: A 4.5- to 5.4- kilogram medicine ball is ideal for throwing and passing as an explosive exercise.
Micro hurdles: These mini-hurdles (six inches high) are often used by hockey, soccer and football players to improve their lateral movement, agility and foot speed.
Catalyst Performance System: I have never used this piece of equipment, so I asked Douglas Brooks, an exercise physiologist and director of athletic conditioning at Sugar Bowl Ski Academy at Lake Tahoe, Calif., for his opinion. “This equipment rocks,” he said. “We use it all the time. I love it and so do my athletes. It’s versatile for clipping in toners, great for plyos, and is adjustable and easy to anchor with plates in the centre of the unit when working with heavy loads. As long as you have the square footage to work with, I highly recommend it.”
Any fire hall that has the co-operation and goodwill of its members can implement a functional-based gym with a reasonable budget and work schedule. Once the gym is in place and the firefighters become familiar with the equipment, exercise programs can be easily designed for firefighters of all levels of participation and performance. Functional-based equipment offers everyone the opportunity to benefit from even the most basic physical activities, as well as more extensive and specialized training sessions.
Todd Aitken has served for 10 years with the Scugog Fire Department in Ontario and is a captain at Toronto Pearson Fire Department. He works part time at Twist Sport Conditioning Centre where, as a coach (TSCC-Gold), he trains elite athletes and firefighter combat challenge participants. He is a graduate of the Ontario Fire College company officer diploma program and the Seneca College fire protection engineering technician program. Todd is working on his bachelor of fire and safety studies at the Justice Institute of British Columbia and his bachelor of arts in public administration and governance at Ryerson University.
Buldyke
Photo by t odd
Part-time fire, full-time fitness
One of the most common fitness obstacles the average person faces is finding the time to adequately train. This is just as true for volunteer (or part-time or paid, on-call firefighters) as it is for busy, working parents or 80-hour-a-week CEOs. Essentially, most part-time firefighters try to balance two dedicated careers with family life and everything that comes with busy lives ruled by BlackBerrys and iPhones. Too often, the workout is entirely cut out of a busy day. Many readers have expressed interest in learning how to stay fit on a tight timeline. I’m here to tell you that it is possible to do so. I truly believe that in spite of a busy lifestyle you can achieve the fitness level you desire.
First, ask yourself how much time you can realistically dedicate to training. I know you’re busy, that’s why you’re reading . . . but if fitness is a priority, you will find time for it, just as every fit person does. I’m not asking you to set aside an hour a day, seven days a week – that’s an unrealistic commitment for many of us. But I’m positive everyone can scrape up a few hours throughout the week.
Training: To improve your fitness level, you need an hour of physical activity four days a week, or every second day. That’s not unrealistic. Schedule yourself four mornings, evenings, lunch hours, or whatever you can pull off. Make time for it and try it for two weeks. By then you’ll have made progress, and I’ll bet you won’t want to go back to sporadic workouts. Four workouts are enough if you push yourself. Here are some tips to help you make the most of what little time you can dedicate to exercise, and help you realize that you really do have plenty of time to succeed.
1. Dumbbell chest press, three sets, repeat six to 10 times until failure.
2. Pull-ups, three sets, repeat until failure.
3. Dumbbell chest fly, three sets, repeat eight to 12 times.
4. Barbell row, three sets, repeat six to 10 times.
5. Push-ups, three sets, repeat until failure.
6. Cable lat row, three sets, repeat eight to 12 times.
• This may be more than enough volume for you, or you may choose to add more. Either way, try this example or one of your own. Keep an eye on the clock and adjust, add or subtract accordingly. Apply these principles to each muscle group.
Brad LawreNce
I truly believe that in spite of a busy lifestyle you can achieve the fitness level you desire.
• Design a training plan that incorporates weight training and cardio in the same session, and stick to it. Exercise at a fast pace with heavier loads (muscle failure anywhere from 6-10 reps), and short rest intervals (30 seconds is perfect).
• Train for 45 to 55 minutes, and train with a purpose. My workouts rarely exceed one hour. Your workouts should be short because you shouldn’t be able to maintain your pace for more than an hour. If you can, your workout needs to become more metabolic.
• Balance your workout by training non-competing muscle groups in the same session, called a superset. Non-competing muscle groups can be trained in succession because the two exercises you perform back to back do not include the same muscles. For instance, combine a chest press with pull-ups, or a barbell row as a back exercise. This type of superset will allow your chest to rest while you train your back and keep your heart rate elevated. This gives you a huge advantage over resting on a bench and waiting for your chest to recover, and you’re also completing two exercises in the time it would normally take to complete one. If you tire and need a longer rest period, take it after your superset, not during. Here’s an example of a brief chest/back split with supersets included:
• Ease out of the weight-training machines and move on to tougher training methods. The guy at the gym who does one exercise at a time, and sits on a machine for a three-minute rest between every set isn’t getting fitter. The guy getting fitter is moving from free weights, to cables, to a squat cage and back to free weights. Get up and get moving; walk with a purpose and break a sweat.
Nutrition: If you’re familiar with my column, you know that I stress proper nutrition. If you’re pressed for time and can’t train most days of the week, nutrition is more important than anything. The less you train, the more you need proper nutrition. By now, you should have a decent idea of how to make a balanced meal: proper portion sizing, and proper timing for your carbohydrates, proteins and fats. These balanced meals are important when you have time. But when you don’t, try one of these snacks that require little to no time to prepare (most of which you can take with you when you are on the go).
• Protein shakes are a perfect quick fix. Choose a low-carb whey variety with a high percentage of protein.
• Handful of nuts (almonds, etc.).
• Cottage cheese and yogurt blend. Cottage cheese (dry curd is best as it contains no sodium) is nearly as perfect as a grilled chicken breast. Mix it with your favourite low-sugar yogurt for a snack you can prepare ahead of time and take with you.
• Protein bars can be great on the go, but be very careful choosing them. Some of these are basically candy bars with added protein. Pay attention to the label and choose a lowcarb, low-sugar variety.
Make your health and fitness a priority, even if you are pressed for time. Train hard when you get the opportunity, and don’t waste your hard work on a terrible diet. With a little planning and effort, you’ll achieve your desired fitness goals. Train and fuel your body with a purpose, and watch your body transform.
Brad Lawrence is a firefighter with the Calgary Fire Department and a certified personal trainer who specializes in training and nutrition for emergency responders. E-mail Brad at bradmlawrence@gmail.com
Comox Fire Rescue
Vancouver Island station is training for life
Department name/location
Comox Fire Rescue, Comox, Vancouver Island, B.C. Founded 1946.
Chiefs/deputies
Fire Chief Gord Schreiner, CFO, GIFireE
Assistant Chief Rick Shelton
Assistant Chief Jim Lariviere
type of department
Composite
Mandate
Suppression, rescue, medical, hazmat, public education, fire prevention and operating a regional fire training centre in partnership with the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
number of stations/halls
1 station serving 20,000 people
number of firefighters
5 full-time (chief, two assistant chiefs and two staff)
45 paid, on-call firefighters
number of officers
3 chiefs
3 platoons, each with one platoon captain Each platoon has two companies with a lieutenant on each.
Each of the six companies has six firefighters.
Geographic area served
15 square miles
number of apparatuses
1 65-foot quint
1 rescue engine
1 rural engine
2 rescue vehicles
1 26-foot fireboat
3 staff vehicles
2 special-operations trailers
Shift
Full-time staff is four on, three off, days only (10-hour days).
Hiring procedure
Full-time hires from within only. Approximately five paid, on-call firefighters hired per year, with application process and waiting list.
Level to which department trains
All chiefs are Fire Officer 3 or better. All captains are Fire Officer 2 or better. Most lieutenants are Fire Officer 1 or better. All firefighters are NFPA 1001, Level 2. (It takes about two years for our recruits to achieve the NFPA 1001 standard. Most of our firefighters have many other certifications.)
What’s new
New engine arrived in May.
Another new training building being constructed in 2011. Our training centre boasts a sevenroom, concrete, live-fire building, two training towers (one five-storey, the other three-storey) and dozens of props. DEPARTMENT
oldest station or most unique station
Our only station includes a very good firetraining centre on the same property.
Most significant fire in your department’s history
In 2011, we had a fire that destroyed the Lorne Hotel, a 130-year-old pub.
Most significant other incident in your department’s history
Fire department responded to the crash of a Lancaster military airplane many years ago.
Department’s mantra, or saying Training for LIFE!
Social or athletic activities in which your members participate
A little bit of everything – including fishing!
Causes your department supports
You Are Not Alone, or Y.A.N.A., a local charity to which we donate thousands of dollars each year.
unique
events your department hosts
We host an annual Valentine’s Day dinner for our significant others at the fire station. We also host an annual pay-it-forward day, where we provide smaller departments with a free day of training and lots of prizes, including training books and DVDs. And we host a firefighter youth camp every other year: 36 students stay at the fire station for five days. We have hosted six such camps so far.
uniform colour
Station uniforms: black.
PPE: black, including all-black helmets for all ranks.
Rank is shown with different colour reflective on the helmets.
Anything interesting in your community?
Comox Fire Training Centre
Quick
facts
Comox Fire Rescue is a very unique and innovative fire department. Its members are among the best trained in the country. The department is full of innovative ideas. Our firstout engine has three thermal imaging cameras in it and we have seven TICs in total in our station. We train hard and expect to refill at least 40 cylinders each practice night.
Chief Gord Schreiner was busy in 2010, working part time for the provincial Office of the Fire Commissioner as a venue commander at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, B.C. He also works as a structural protection specialist at several of the larger interface fires in the province, and teaches part time for the Justice Institute of British Columbia, instructing fire-service courses in British Columbia, Alberta and Saudi Arabia.
At its annual conference in September, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs named Chief Gord Schreiner 2010 Full-
time Fire Chief of the Year. “I was very surprised by this and believe it reflects the outstanding department we have here,” he said. Chief Schreiner also received an award of excellence from the Justice Institute of British Columbia in 2010.
Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly welcomes requests for department profiles. E-mail lking@annexweb.com and tell us what’s unique about your department and we’ll follow up to arrange photos and details.
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“It’s fun and educational for children and reinforces fire safety lessons for adults.”
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Dollars and sense
As a boy, I didn’t think much about money. I came from a middle-class family with two brothers and one sister, and life was good. The older I got, the more I thought about money; there were more things I wanted than my money would allow. So, as a teenager, I cut lawns to save money and I worked part time at an autorepair garage – the owner of that garage was a volunteer firefighter, like my dad. I was happy.
When I started a life of my own, I realized that I would be footing the bill for all of my expenses, and I knew I had to budget. If I wanted something extra, sacrifices would have to be made.
When I was hired as a young firefighter, I discovered that municipalities have only so much money to pay for all the goods and services that taxpayers have come to expect.
The leaders of our fire services are charged with the responsibility of spending wisely. After weighing all the demands of a municipal fire service, some money has to be spent on necessary items that don’t require a whole lot of analysis, such as hose replacement and fuel for the trucks. Wages for firefighters in career departments often eat up a large portion of the municipal budget. Tasks such as replacing fire apparatuses use up another big hunk of money.
Then there is fire prevention and (hopefully) public education. I left this to the end because many municipal leaders and fire-service personnel do that. Unfortunately, too often, our customers and politicians think that if the municipality has fire trucks and people to run them, then the fire department is set. I hope the ones on the inside don’t feel this way.
tion. Many fire chiefs have risen to the top from among the fire-suppression ranks, and some are therefore a bit unintentionally lopsided in their perceptions of need in the fire department. Firefighters with a passion for fire prevention and public education must make crystal clear to the chief the importance of funding programs and providing staff to help make our communities safer from fire. But fire prevention and public education staff must also do their homework.
KeN SHeridaN
. . . it must be said that preventing fires is a lot less costly than fighting them.
I have spoken with many fire personnel all over the country; the dilemma of how to fund fire prevention and education is widespread.
Before I continue, it must be said that preventing fires is a lot less costly than fighting them. Fire prevention staff must stop comparing fire-suppression costs with fire-prevention costs. The community has to be prepared to battle blazes and respond to other emergencies with equipment and personnel, and, simply put, this is expensive.
Secondly, before we can gauge if there is enough money for fire prevention and public education, we have to understand that maybe fire prevention and public education proponents don’t really need a big chunk of money to do their jobs. Instead of whining about which divisions get more money, fire prevention and public education officers need to be creative and inspired about their jobs, be realistic about budgets, and, as the cliché goes, think outside the box. Municipal fireprevention programs must be thought of in two parts: there should be a fire-code enforcement component and a public-education component. These two distinctly different roles must be thought of and budgeted for differently (although the same people often do both jobs).
I have previously stressed communication with the fire chief. It is crucial to encourage the chief to understand the entire fire strategy for the community, which must include fire prevention and public educa-
Those in our departments who embrace fire prevention and public education, and want others to share that passion, must submit proposals to the chief explaining how active and aggressive fire-prevention and public-education programs will work, how these programs will benefit the customers we serve, and how council will benefit from lower firefighting costs due to better fire-prevention and public-education strategies. Accurate records of all fire-protection and public-education activities must be kept and analyzed to ensure programs are working efficiently. Comparisons to fire-prevention and public-education programs led by similarly sized fire departments may help streamline the programs in your region to meet your own prevention and education mandates. Instead of just asking for more money to expand these programs, we must prove how crucial they are to the department and explain the consequences of failing to maintain or expand them. Dealing with fire when it’s burning is too dangerous and too costly.
When all is said and done, we have to live with whatever budget council allocates to the fire department, sufficient or not. Or do we? Going outside the usual taxpayer-funded fire department is not something people often think about. I’m not speaking of having a social function or a 50/50 draw to raise money. Sometimes, spearheading an all-out fundraising project for a need that can’t be met through traditional methods may be in order.
In an article I wrote for Fire Fighting in Canada in August 2006, I explained a project I co-ordinated through which almost $80,000 was raised in 14 months to purchase a fire-safety house/trailer and resource vehicle for our community. The venture was positive and motivating. Even though funds are not always available, a commitment to doing the right thing can turn a need into a reality.
Regardless of your department’s size or budget, more can always be done to promote fire safety. Becoming a champion for fire prevention and public education doesn’t just happen overnight; you need to invest time, passion and make sacrifices. The ability to learn and work as part of a team to accomplish a goal that may seem unrealistic is what sets you apart from the droning of the siren on your fire truck as you respond to another fire.
Ken Sheridan is captain of fire prevention in Norfolk County, Ont. He has more than 21 years in fire suppression and fire prevention. Contact him at ken.sheridan@norfolkcounty.ca
Extrication Tips
Continued from page 32
object. Continue to push to a point where the arms of the spreader are fully extended or you anticipate the spreader tips will start to slip off the rocker panel or ground/pavement. Stop, slowly retract spreader arms, monitor for any unwanted jarring movements, and continue the process until the vehicle has moved enough so that there is space between the impacted object and the vehicle.
At this point, rescuers can start working to extricate the patient, either by removing the vehicle’s components, such as doors or Bpillars, or by pushing the impacted side back to its near-original, preengineered state.
A few points to consider:
• Have a pair of eyes watching for unwanted movement at the impacted side through the entire evolution.
• When releasing or retracting the spreader arms, do so very carefully. The spreader is under load and being too hasty may cause unwanted movement.
• Point or orient the hydraulic spreader in the direction you want the rear of the vehicle to go; a 90-degree position against the vehicle may not result in much movement before the spreader tips will want to slip off, or the tool may twist and damage the spreader arms.
• Ensure a proper angle of the spreader to the ground/pavement when sliding the vehicle; if the angle is too great you will lift rather than push the vehicle away from the impacted object.
• Practise, learn and understand the principles, benefits and pitfalls in a training simulation prior to the real life applications.
6: Position the hydraulic spreader at a 45-degree angle in the direction you want the vehicle to move. Slowly open the spreader arms to push the vehicle away from the object.
This evolution is an advanced technique and should not be undertaken unless the operator has a thorough understanding of hydraulic tools and potential tool reaction, and can fully anticipate when to stop or reposition the hydraulic tool in order to avoid damaging it.
This technique is to be used in special situations only. Once comfortable and competent with this evolution, a skilled operator should be able to put a glass of water on the hood of the vehicle and perform the exercise without spilling a drop! Remember: practise, practise, practise!
Stay safe!
Randy Schmitz is a Calgary firefighter who has been extensively involved in the extrication field for 18 years. He is an extrication instructor and has competed internationally. He can be reached at rwschmitz@shaw.ca.
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Making the call
My pager hissed and crackled, then went silent. That was helpful, I thought, as I pulled on my boots and headed for the fire hall.
Those innocent words – vehicle in the ditch – can mean anything. Sometimes they indicate a rollover. Occasionally they portend a collision with an immovable object. One time, they were code for a headon crash between two tractor-trailers. Frequently, however, “vehicle in the ditch” simply means that someone slid off the road into the nice, cushy snow bank. There’s no way to know what to expect when the pagers go off and we hear those words.
Out here in the boondocks, we’re accustomed to receiving sketchy details. The convenience of cellular technology, coupled with the helpful nature of most Canadians, creates an unexpected problem. The Good Samaritans aren’t always good enough to stop and get the facts. They dial 911, pass along their few microns of information, and then congratulate themselves on a civic duty well done as they zoom into the sunset. However, Raith, Ont., is a 100-kilometre round trip from where we are in Upsala, Ont. That’s a long way to send a pumper and a rescue just to find out that the people in the ditch are mad because you didn’t bring a tow truck. But when the call comes, we don’t have the luxury of dissecting the credibility of the caller. We have to go.
received another page shortly after: “Actually guys, it was east of town after all.” At this point, the dispatchers were likely just as bewildered as we were. They can only relay the information they are given. I imagine there are days when the call centre sounds like this:
“Fire dispatch, what is your emergency?”
“Um, yeah, I saw a vehicle stuck in a snow bank. I think it crashed.”
“What is the location?”
On rare occasions, we have the option of refusing to respond.
I’ve jokingly talked of writing a tutorial on the three easy steps to dialing 911: find out what happened, dial the numbers, and pass along the relevant information. Most people have a good grasp on dialing the numbers. It’s the scanty information that muddies what should be a clear communication stream, like the time we were paged to a head-on collision and a fire involving a pick-up truck and a transport truck. Past experiences lent a little urgency to the call, until we were abruptly cancelled halfway there.
“Cancelled?” I asked in disbelief.
“Ambulance is on scene. They said you aren’t needed,” the dispatcher replied.
“But how . . . ?”
“They just said you aren’t needed . . . if you really want to go, it’s up to you.”
We have better things to do than go where we aren’t needed, so we turned around. Later, the paramedics told me that a transport had clipped the front bumper of a pick-up truck parked on the side of the highway (the head-on part). The impact rattled the battery, throwing a shower of sparks into the engine compartment (the fire part). It was a near disaster, and a near miss – both common occurrences on the TransCanada Raceway – but a few more details would have been helpful.
Sometimes our Good Samaritans are clueless about their location, like the time we were paged to a collision 10 kilometres east of town. We paraded our vehicles through Upsala, got a few minutes down the road, and received an update that the call was actually west of town. We turned around and paraded back through Upsala, headed west.We
“Hang on . . . (muffled) Edith, where the heck are we? . . . Yeah, we’re east of Upsala.”
“Is anyone trapped or hurt?”
“How am I supposed to know? I was doing 90 and talking on my cellphone when I drove by.”
“Do you have any other information?”
“Yeah, it was a blue 2006 Chevy Suburban 4x4 with a roof rack, tinted windows, summer tires, aluminum rims, a trailer hitch, a scratch on the right rear fender . . .”
“Ooookay, anything else about the crash?”
“Yeah, it was west of Upsala.”
“But you said it was east. . .”
“Did I? I meant east of English River. We’re west of Upsala . . . or maybe it’s Raith . . . (muffled) What’s that, Edith? Oh, my wife says we’re somewhere between Sault Ste. Marie and Winnipeg. Can I hang up now?”
On rare occasions, we have the option of refusing to respond. We declined a forest-fire call once because it was 50 kilometres away and there was a foot of snow on the ground. I suggested that the dispatcher send the police, who are paid to go on wild goose chases. The next day, an officer told me that a traveller with a broken-down vehicle had built a small campfire in the bush to keep warm. A passerby saw the flames and used his trusty cellphone to call in the “forest fire.”
I understand that the average person doesn’t feel qualified to decide when a person does or does not need help. No one wants to ask, “Excuse me sir, is your left foot normally turned around backwards?” or “Sorry to bother you ma’am, but are flames supposed to be shooting out from under the hood of your car?” It should be possible, however, to collect a few relevant details without asking a brainless question or scorching one’s eyebrows.
So here’s what I would say to the Good Samaritans. If you think someone needs help, go ahead and whip out your cellphones faster than Wyatt Earp draws his six-gun. In spite of my grumbling about itchy 911 fingers, I admit that modern technology does facilitate a speedy response, especially out here in the boondocks. The Good Samaritans would be even better though, if they would just stop and take an oldfashioned look first.
Maybe I should write that 911 tutorial.
Tim Beebe is the fire chief in Upsala, Ont. Contact him at upsalafd@tbaytel.net and check out his blog at www.beebewitzblog. blogspot.com.
tim BeeBe
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