Maria Canton
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 26/99) - NWT fire standards will be brought up to snuff when a new ten-year agreement between the NWT Fire Chiefs' Association, the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Alberta Fire Training School (AFTS) begins this week.

"We plan to mirror what Alberta has done," says Fire Marshal Don Gillis, from the emergency services division of MACA.

"After a review of fire service training in the NWT, we developed a strategy to address our long term needs."

The joint project will cost MACA over $300,000 in the first year, in order to provide the necessary training and to fulfil the contract with AFTS.

This week will see the first meeting with 20 fire officials from around the NWT.

They will become the core team that will work towards establishing fire policies and procedures, under the guidance of Bernie Van Tighem, of the AFTS.

As part of the contract, Van Tighem will be stationed in Yellowknife for the next four years.

He will provide the initial training to equip the core team with the knowledge and skills to train firefighters in their home communities, establishing territorial and international standards.

"The goal is to be able to get the territorial process to undergo the same scrutiny that the Alberta process undergoes," said Van Tighem.

The process works towards gaining official recognition in meeting the fire standards of either the International Fire Service Accreditation College (IFSAC) or the National Board of Fire Service Professional Qualifications (NBFSPQ).

Achieving accreditation, however, is an evolutionary and lengthy process.

"Right now we have a high ratio and a good mix of people in the core training group," said Van Tighem.

"And after four years there should be enough instructor evaluators in the NWT to further the program on their own."

In addition to addressing the needs of individual community fire departments, the program will focus on developing practical skills while working with the community's own equipment.

"The best training for fire departments is to be able to work on their own trucks with their own men," says Gillis.

The professional qualification standards are based on the same skills regardless of volunteer or career firefighter status.