Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 12/98) - The Yellowknife fire department is looking for a few good men and women who want to serve their community as volunteer firefighters.

Mike Lowing, one of two deputy fire chiefs with the department, said anyone thinking of applying for a volunteer position should be prepared to commit a substantial amount of time to the endeavor.

"We're looking for people willing to serve their community, who are energetic and not too substantially involved in other activities," said Lowing.

"The volunteer positions are fairly time intensive and we caution people to be prepared for a lot of training and pre-scheduled events such as spending a good deal of time delivering our public education programs."

Although the department is not looking for supermen or women, there are standards which have to be met.

Applicants must be in good physical health, with no substantial medical disabilities, and be prepared to submit to a criminal record search.

"Applicants must be 19 years of age and be prepared to take a fairly basic medical," said Lowing.

"We do look at an applicant's past record, mainly to ensure they don't represent a security threat.

"We also require a driver's abstract, even though a new volunteer is restricted from driving any department vehicle for their first year.

"We will not accept anyone with an impaired conviction or a history of having a problem with operating a motor vehicle."

Lowing said a training session is set to begin this fall to boost the department's number of volunteers, which he described as being down.

He said it's typical for Yellowknife people to be on the move, adding the volunteer force represents a real cross-section of people from the community.

The Yellowknife fire department has 19 career employees and those accepted as volunteers receive a monthly retainer.

"How much volunteers receive is based on attendance to callouts, practices, our Ride Along program with career staff to gain experience and our public education programs.

"To receive the lowest portion of the retainer a volunteer must average 50 per cent participation.

"Anyone continually averaging 50 per cent probably wouldn't be kept on the force. We look to people to average 75 per cent, commit 10 to 30 hours a month to the force and enjoy working in a group environment with a strong command-and-control network."

Anyone interested in a volunteer application may pick up an information package at the fire hall.