cae el RE gies oan aan? A profile of the Terrace ‘Fire Department — —_—- Part One of four —— This is the first installment in a four-part series examining the Terrace Fire Department. This week reporter Tod Strachan talks to a nationally respected professional firefighting consul- tant who was in Terrace last week to conduct a course on rescuing accident victims trapped in wrecked automobiles. In future issues Strachan will accompany Terrace firefighters into a burning building, talk to firefighters on the job, and look at the department’s functions, both as @ taxpayer-supported municipal service and an all- round emergency rescue resource. WHAT ARE FIREFIGHTERS? WHAT DO THEY DO? Silly question, right? They put out fires. They sit around the firehall with fire dog Spot, shine brass and play checkers. On the odd occasion someone phones them, and they don their gear and race to the scene. Most people don’t consciously make an effort to define the life of a fireman. The picture is well known, formed through reading the odd newspaper or book or ‘viewing a little television. It’s a "picture that lies in the recesses of our minds and on which we base opinions and arbitrary deci- sions. - They need a what? A new hose nozzle? It won’t get used that often, and the city’s photocopier needs cleaning. The last form letter I received had several blotches on it. They need a new fire engine too? Forget it. They'll only drive it four times a year, and there’s a pothole on the street in front. of my house that needs to be filled. ‘You might think focusing on comments like this is unfair, but the simple truth is, if you think like this you could be dead wrong, In fairness, this kind of thinking isn’t a Terrace phenom- enon. It’s universal. But a Ter- race example isn’t hard to find. Ken Jones: Tradition getting in the way of progress. Have you ever considered what might happen if there were a major fire on the third floor of the Terrace Inn? The people on the ‘fourth floor would be trapped. The city’s fire depart- ment has no way of reaching them. Yet when long-range thinking suggested an: acrial truck was needed and should be on our list of needed items, most people scoffed. . When it comes to fire protec- tion, the perception seems to be that if our firefighters have a truck and a hose, everything’s fine, But the perception is wrong. Our firefighters do much more than fight fires and they can't do their job properly with- out the right training and tools. "] think the perception of the public is probably not very accurate," says fire services advisor Ken Jones. "The days of playing checkers, sitting down in front of the fire hall, those are things in the steam age days." Jones then points to seven words chalked on a blackboard: "Tradition getting in the way of progress." In other words, the perception noted above that tells us we have everything we need. According to Jones, however, "Tradition is very, very impor- tant to the fire service, But we should not lose sight of the fact we have to progress, keep up to today’s technologies, and try and provide the best service possible to our communities." Jones spent the past week in Terrace facilitating a rescue training program called “Auto- ‘The right kind of equipment, and training like Au professionalism. In the event o mobile Extrication 1991" ,show- ing them how to get trapped and often seriously injured victims out of mangled cars. It’s some- thing firemen do when they’re not fighting fires, telling people how to escape or prevent fires, mopping up hazardous material spills, administering emergency medical care or plucking a mis- guided hiker from the face of a cliff. Jones works for the Ontario Fire Marshall's office and was ite f a serious automobile ac has the ability to rescue injure Terrace Review — Wednesday, November 13, 1991 25 ORE THAN SMOKE-EATE RS tomobile Extrication 1991, add up to cident, a professional fire department d victims rather than stand back and count fatalities. Above, a few of the 20 students who completed the week-long rescue course at NWCC brave torrential rains to face yet another challenge created by imaginative instructors. invited by Terrace fire chief Bob Beckett to present Automobile Extrication 1991. The program was co-sponsored by the Terrace Fire Department, Northwest Community College and the Justice Institute of B.C, Fire Academy. Twenty northern resi- dents who work as firefighters or ambulance paramedics attended the week-long program. They came from points all the way from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Prince George. He was an excellent choice, according to students who took the course. Jones has worked as a fire services advisor for the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office for 11 years, and for the 13 ycars prior to thal was a pro- fessional firefighter in a metro- politan Toronto fire department. Jones provides advice and assis- tance to more than 70 municipal- ities and 30 municipal fire de- partments. The program proved valuable in a number of ways. New tech- niques were discussed and tried, of course, But also, there came with it a new picture to replace the old. A new concept of what a firefighter is ajl about: a dedi- cated professional who is willing to put his own life on the line to save someone elsc’s life, some- one ready and willing to respond at any hour of any day to any situation. And according to Jones: "The most important resource that we have is the person themselves. Give them the training... Give them the equipment... And they’ll do a good job." But what equipment? What training? To understand this, you must first have a fundamental understanding of just what it isa firefighter does. He fights fires, deais with hazardous materials, rescues people, attends to their medical needs, and teaches and promotes safety. And often, he deals with these situations while under a great deal of stress. This might sound like an excit- ing and rewarding line of work. You may by now have decided you would like to sign up for a full-time job, or perhaps as 4 volunteer and keep the job you've got. But we can save you the trouble. Terrace Review reporter Tod Strachan has already made a brief test run for you just to see what it’s all about, And once you've learned what’s involved, you may change your mind. Instead of signing up, you might decide there is wisdom to be found in letting others do the job while you do your part in mak- ing sure they get the equipment and training they need.