Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Apr 05/00) - When it comes to fighting fires, Rankin Inlet's Tim Hinds is the man for the job.

Hinds, who has been the Keewatin regional fire marshal since October 1997, is responsible for all seven hamlets.

He helps address fire prevention through building inspections and the delivery of educational training for the general public and the region's 13 schools.

His office also helps deliver various levels of firefighting training to Kivalliq fire departments for the times when the flames do break out.

"I'm liaison and advice for the fire chiefs. I don't run their operations, they control their own fire departments," he says.

Once fire department personnel have their various levels of training, maintenance training is conducted internally.

Basic firefighting, fire chief and investigation training is handled by Hinds' office.

"We do provide fire-investigation assistance to our fire chiefs, should they require additional help. Usually, that only happens in situations of death or substantial damage."

Hinds visits the other six Kivalliq hamlets as often as his busy schedule permits.

If he sees a problem in a community, he tells his regional supervisor in Community, Government and Transportation, who then notifies Nunavut's fire marshal.

Hinds says the region could use a better alerting system for fire departments in an actual emergency. He says fire phones and siren systems are outdated.

"There are better radio-telephone systems now which are fairly economical.

"They can be hooked up so when people call, the fire chief answers, assesses the situation and pages out for the assistance he needs.

"It's something that could very easily be put in place in the communities and, in my opinion, it's something that's needed in this region.

"The old system has its share of wear of tear and it's time to upgrade."

Hinds says the biggest strength of every Kivalliq fire department is the attitude of the people involved.

Kivalliq has a lot of good people who train hard and enjoy their job.

"It really shows their dedication in trying to do what they can to help their family and friends. They're ready, willing and able to put their own well-being on the line answering fire calls and they should be recognized for that by their fellow citizens."