EIGHT QUESTIONS

Sapper Jack Gardner

A high level of fitness and developing good fire fighting skills has paid off for Linton-based Sapper Jack Gardner who has qualified for the Firefighter Challenge World Championships in Florida later this year.

Why did you join the Army, and choose being a firefighter in particular? Were there other options?

I always wanted to join the Army. Ever since the recruiters came around in high school I was pretty sold on the idea of being a soldier. I joined as an emergency responder because I wanted to help people and also put the skills we learn to use at emergencies. My other options when joining the Army were Armoured and vehicle mechanic. But at the end of the day I knew I wanted to be an emergency responder.

What sort of training did you receive, and what sort of ongoing training do you do?

After completing basic training we go through Engineer Corps training which lasts three months. From there we go onto basic fire for an additional three months. After graduating from basic fire I was qualified to ride truck as an emergency responder. On shift, we train at least once a day. As well as keeping up to date with the military aspect of our job, our main focus is on the operational side of being an emergency responder. Some examples are search techniques, medical co-response or motor vehicle accident training. We train with simulated real life emergencies. This means we are exposed to live fire environments that reach temperatures exceeding 400 degrees.

What parts of your job do you find challenging? Vehicle accidents, large fires etc?

Some aspects of the job can be hard. Especially when you are dealing with victims who have lost either family or property, or both. But when it comes to a challenging call out we are trained to a very high level. Yes, no two callouts are the same. Whether it be child-related or a family that has lost everything in a house fire, we recognise that “In the absence of experience we fall back on our training.” That is a quote that I strongly believe is key for an emergency we haven’t encountered before.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy the work at any emergency. You work so hard at every call-out, that once you get back to station you can feel every muscle in your body. You’re all exhausted whether that be physically or mentally. Going through that with your work mates is something that forges a very strong bond. The fact that I can help someone, or do one little thing for them on what could have been the worst day of their life, is something that I find very rewarding.

What do you do when you are not actually completing a task?

I keep myself quite busy at station. But when we have down time I tend to find myself in our gym or even just sitting down playing a board game with the crew.

What is the camaraderie like on station?

We are a very tight knit bunch on shift, as is expected due to the nature of the job. We go into some very high stress and potentially hazardous situations where you have no choice but to rely on your team mates and in turn that creates a very strong bond with your peers.

What is the kit like that you work with?

The kit we use is some of the best kit money can buy. We have industry standards that our equipment needs to meet as well as putting it through a series of rigorous tests that push it far beyond what we’d ever put it through on the job.

What do you do to relax?

I’m very much an active person but when I am not at work I attend CrossFit, I go out four-wheel driving and camping. I also play canoe polo and during the winter months I snowboard.