ee peseapereraes = a Spare time arare item | for Terrace - firefighters by Tod Strachan The Provincial Emergency Pro- gram went into action recently when a propane explosion severely damaged the Stewart General Hospital. As a part of this plan, the Terrace Fire Department was called, and in less than an hour two local firefighters were on their way by helicopter to assist their Stewart colleagues. To many people it was a routine news item about firefighters. Few take time to ask: Who are these people? What do they do? And who pays for it all? For the answers, we talked to Terrace Fire Chief Bob Beckett and the president of the Terrace Volunteer Firefighters Association, Shaunce Kruisselbrink. There were a few surprises. Not $0 much in the statistics. As the city grows, the number of fire- related emergencies increase. But there are a surprising number of rural or non-fire related activities our local firefighters take part in. But first the statistics. In 1990, the Terrace Fire Department answered 281 calls which resulted in 1,969 man-hours of work. The _ approximate value of property threatened in these calls totalled about $3.5 million, but thanks toa a, oments of high action, abe Ea divided by hours of training. Terrace firefighters hone their skills when they aren't out using them, often on volunteer time. dedicated and well-trained depart- ment, actual property damage has been estimated at only $735,000. And there wete ‘no fire-related deaths or injuries in 1990. In addition to the obvious — fighting fires — our’ local fire- fighters put in hundreds of addi- tional hours last year attending fire practices (1,281 man-hours in total) and attended 19 out-of-town emergency calls, some requiring the use of the Jaws of Life. Volunteer Revival — Terrace firefighters recently gave up a Saturday to get CPR training, part of the requirements for having the department designated as a First Responder. Fire chief Bob Beckett said a First Responder arrangement could save critical minutes In the city’s ability to deal with gency training seminars, fire hall fours, public fire extinguisher training sessions, lectures on fire safety, Fire Safety House construc- tion and demonstrations, rebuilding the Fire Safety House tow-truck, and in total, 339 bicycles that were marked for the RCMP antitheft program. oy So what? These guys are just working a regular job, paid for with taxpayer’s dollars. But this is the first surprise: in actual fact, very little of the activity listed ots emergencies. While this group was taking the course, other HING’S B |. required for any real emergency. Pr 12 Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 13, 1991 B7 above was paid for by anyone. The vast majority of the work was done by volunteer help. The truth is, what taxpayers actually pay for is the purchase of new equipment, equipment main- tenance, one on-duty firefighter and a full-time fire chief. The on- duty firefighter at any particular time, is one of eight paid members who man the fire hall 24-hours a day. . What you get, if there’s a fire or rescue operation to attend, is a few or all of the other seven full-time firefighters who tum out as unpaid, off-duty workers and the 21 regular firefighter volunteers who provide the bulk of the manpower That’s right. When you’re watch- ing a fire or rescue operation in progress, observing the organized confusion that brings things quick- ly under control, you are probably watching firefighters who are on their own time. This brings us to the next ques- tion. Who are these people? Who, as a part of their job, who would give up an evening of TV to fight a fire, rescue a-trapped motorist or get soaked at the weekly fire prac- tice? Who would give up their day off just to attend a training semi- nar, teach fire safety, of show school children how to escape from a burning building? Who would allow their boss to order them out of the house or away from their regular job in any kind of weather, at any time of the day, any dayof the week? To go to work, immediately, and without pay? - The answer, according to Kruisselbrink, is simple: people who like the work; the "challenge of the job". People who care about the community and the lives and eee emt ee a aed firefighters were out on their own time trying to suppress a stubborn fire that had broken out in the Terrace landfill. “How many people would be willing to give up a Saturday, without pay, to put out a fire at the dump?" Beckett remarked. RNING? safety of the residents here. And people who simply enjoy the camaraderie of the department, like many others enjoy belonging to a service club or community organi- zation. In short, ordinary people with a special kind of caring. — And what do these people worty about? Not their ability to do the job, say Kruisselbrink and Beckett. It’s their ability to respond with Bob Beckett: Second firefighter an duty would make a crucial difference. the equipment they possess that worries them. This isn’t to say our local fire department is stocked with inferior or faulty equipment. That’s not the case at, all. Hundreds of hours of volunteer time make certain of that. But as the community grows, so do the demands on the equip- ment and manpower we already have. . With this idea in mind, we asked Beckett what kind of changes we might expect in the coming years. He noted the following: eAn expanded fire hall so "all" emergency vehicles can be kept indoors. This will improve reliabil- ity and reduce maintenance costs. eA ladder truck. At the present time, we depend on Thornhill’s ladder truck but if it’s busy in Thomhill, or the fire is too large, the first major apartment or hotel fire we have might be impossible to deal with. eTwo paid firefighters manning the hall instead of one. This will make a difference in a number of ways. If there are two emergency calls in quick succession, the hall will still be manned. At the present time, it is necessary to leave the fire hall unattended for several minutes until a volunteer can respond to man the phones. Two firefighters on duty will also mean the first responder program in Terrace can become a reality. This will mean increased security for the community. Ambulance dispatch in Kamloops is manned 24 hours a day, but the ambulance station in Terrace isn’t. To the average city resident, a first responder program will mean quicker emergency resporse at any hour of the day. When will these changes take place? No one knows for sure, but they will come. They have to. In the meantime, the next time you see one of our firefighters on the - job you may want to look at him in a different light. 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