Your news this week: RCMP swarm in for Chipman arrest - 2 Mundare cenotaph needing repairs - 3 Bruderheim Skatepark opens - 6 OPINION: Shooting the messenger - 4
Proud to be an Independent CANADIAN Publication
FREE
Vol. 14, No. 42, Wednesday, September 11, 2019 www.LamontLeader.com
Lamont firefighters host Heroes in the Sky event Event honours 9/11 heroes BY JANA SEMENIUK Lamont firefighters hosted their Heroes in The Sky event at the Lamont County administration building on Sept 7 from 11am – 3pm. The free event, which accepted donations at each station, aims at connecting residents with their local firefighters in hopes of sharing some emergency prevention tips as well as having a bit of food and fun. “We hold this event as close as we can to Sept 11. It started in memory of those who died during 9/11 in New York,” said Lieutenant Andy McDonald. “We’ve turned it into a free community event.” McDonald explained that Heroes in the Sky has been held annually for the past eight years. This year, the event included a barbecue, raffle table, bouncy castle, kids firefighting challenge, as well as a vehicle extrication demo. The kids’ firefighting challenge was put together as a scaled-down version of what firefighters do in order to save lives during a fire. In this case the children had the opportunity to make their way around and through obstacles in order to save a stuffed bear. A woman known as ‘Dolly’ from Parkview restaurant, generously donated her Ford Taurus station wagon to be dismantled during the vehicle extrication demonstration. Aldon Automotive donated transportation of the vehicle to and from the event site. In addition, the Mundare firefighters were also on-hand to assist with the activity. McDonald explained over the microphone step by step what the firefighters were doing and what equipment they were using as they dismantled the Ford. In the end, with windows busted out, they managed to remove the roof of the vehicle as they would do had there been a victim trapped inside. Proceeds from the event are used to help fund resources that firefighters take to local schools, as well as additional equipment and advanced training for the firefighters. “We are sending one of our female firefighters (Kylee Dziewenko) off to BC for nine weeks for training in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” said McDonald. “So, if anyone from our area needs help, we will have a resource right here.” Dziewenko, who is also a primary care paramedic, will be attending the Critical Care Stress Management Program in BC one weekend per month until the end of February.
Lamont firefighters chop away at a wrecked vehicle as they demonstrate to a large crowd the way victims are extracted from a vehicle wreck, during the Heroes in the Sky event held Sept. 3. A large crowd came out to participate in viewing demonstrations, playing on bouncy castles, and chowing down at a BBQ – all part of a fundraiser the local department holds to raise funds for further education and training.
Vehicle demo hits home for rescued resident her injuries with her sweater and dialled 911. BY JANA SEMENIUK “I yelled at the 911 operator,” she said. “I still feel While watching the vehicle extrication demonstration at the Heroes in the Sky event in Lamont on Sept bad about that.” Once emergency workers arrived, they comforted 7, local resident Jessica Thornton, 19, could not help Thornton while figuring out what her injuries were. reliving her own recent experience. On Aug 2, while travelling down the 552 between In order to remove her from her vehicle to get her Range Roads 191 and 192, Thornton’s tires hit some into the ambulance, firefighters had to use spreading and cutting equipment to loose gravel. While overpeel back the roof of correcting, her car rolled Thornton’s vehicle much into the ditch. like the demonstration “I was looking at the during the Heroes in the ditch, and fair warning to Sky event. anyone looking at the “I could hear a helicopditch; just go in, don’t try ter flying above me, but to come out because I did they couldn’t land,” she and that’s when my car Jessica Thornton suffered serious injuries in a car said. “It wasn’t safe to rolled,” she said. Thornton explained accident in August. On Sept. 7, she met two of her land.” RESCUED that once she realized she rescuers, firefighters Kylee Dziewenko and Travis Continued on Page 3 was hurt, she covered up Anderson, both whom were taking part in Lamont firefighter’s Heroes in the Sky event, Saturday.