Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Apr 09/99) - Firefighter training, prevention methods and fire safety education are the focal points of a new fire protection strategy for the North, released to Beaufort Delta leaders during their meeting in Inuvik, March 30.

"What the fire departments are telling us is they want a formal training program to accredited standards or to some standard whether internationally accredited or NWT accredited," says Eric Bussey, director of the emergency services division of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

"So, what we want to do is bring our people to that (accredited) level."

Bussey first presented the strategy to mayors at the NWT Association of Municipalities annual general meeting held in March, and he says he is still seeking feedback.

Training exists now but there are no accredited standards in place, or at least none that conform to National Firefighter Professional Association standards as a way of better protecting the firefighters.

In Inuvik, Fire Chief Al German or other training officers will continue to teach firefighters how to use equipment such as the new tanker truck.

But as of last week, the NWT's emergency services officially entered into a partnership with the Alberta fire training school at an estimated cost of $350,000 for the initial year.

This week, Bussey says the partnership will start developing core-training programs where accredited professionals from Alberta come North to train firefighters to become accredited and then they can train in other communities.

"We'll use Inuvik. You have your fire training school there in the industrial park," Bussey says.

"Yellowknife has a similar facility under construction and Hay River already has one."

More specialized regional training courses in areas such as fire investigation for fire chiefs will also continue in the short term.

"The ideal -- it'll take us a long time to get there -- is to have a firefighter, whether it's the fire chief or another officer, in every community who is a trained investigator."

If the NWT reaches that goal, MACA can save money by not having to fly investigators from Yellowknife to investigate fires in communities.

Bussey says the future training plan will address the different needs and realities in communities the size of Inuvik compared with those such as Tsiigehtchic or Sachs Harbour.

Statistics from 1993 to 1997 reveal that on a five- year average, the NWT has consistently recorded substantially more fire losses per capita than the rest of Canada while also experiencing the greatest per capita fire- death rate.

"It's a long process," Bussey says.

"It will probably take us about four years to get to any level of comfort about where we want to be, but we're going to start right away and be very active."