Volunteers are the bread and butter of Inuvik's Fire Department
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 11/01) - In a night designed to pay homage to those who provide the town with an essential service, guests at the 12th annual Firefighter's Ball learned just how valuable Inuvik's volunteer firefighters really are.
| Awards |
This year's recipient of the Firefighter of the Year Award, Scott Reid, said he was completely taken aback when his name was called for the honour.
"I was extremely surprised that I was chosen for the award. It caught me off guard," said Reid, who is a lieutenant and an officer. "It's a great honour, I'm very pleased."
Reid, who is often called on to fill in for fire chief Al German, has been with the squad for six and a half years.
Fire statistics from April 2000 to March 2001 give the impression that the volunteer force must put almost as much time into the fire department as they do their day jobs and home life.
A total of 1,600 calls were received and 33 blazes battled. Some 110 DACT (digital alarm communication transmission) false alarms were answered, 52 DACT alarms and 302 DACT alarm tests were responded to. The department assisted in two ambulance calls and three search and rescues.
During his speech at the ball, Chief German noted that almost all of the calls came between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Operating on a $350,000 budget shared with bylaw -- the cost of just one set of new bunker gear is more than $1,000 -- the firefighters' volunteer efforts go far further than answering calls while the rest of town sleeps.
The same group of volunteers also forms the Firefighters Association, the fund-raising arm of the department.
The association has raised enough money to buy a $100,000 truck, a $65,000 hydro unit, a rescue snowmobile and five sets of breathing apparatus, and it will soon be acquiring a thermal imaging camera, the only one in the NWT.
"We have an excellent group of people in this department, everyone is amazing," said Julie Miller, a lieutenant and training and fire prevention officer.
Miller says the department plans to start recruiting again this spring for the first time in a year and a half.
"We usually have between 14 to 15 people show up to a fire call and that means the rest are probably out of town. That's taxing on our resources and with no relief crew the night can be very long," she said.
Plans are in the works to offer a basic training course this June for new recruits.
Despite the fire chief having to preside over a group of volunteers rather than a paid workforce, Miller says he encounters little to no problems.
"(Al German) is an excellent chief and being a fire chief of a volunteer department is difficult because everyone is here on their own time, not paid time," said Miller.
"He really supports and encourages everyone who is in the department."
