Brent Reaney
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 12/05) - In the North, recruiting for any job can be difficult. But the Yellowknife Fire Department's team of auxiliary firefighters is certainly paying dividends.

Fourteen of the crew's 24 members, including Chief Mickey Beauchamp, and deputy chiefs Darcy Hernblad and Chucker Dewar, began as what is now known as a paid on-call firefighter.

In addition to the regular 24, the team also has 13 on-call members, with 10 being the minimum requirement.

To start fighting fires for a living, you may have to spend up to a year in fire college in the south where you'll cover topics such as how to attack a fire, how to ventilate a home, how to set up a ladder, as well as proper first aid.

"Then you've got the basic fundamentals of being a firefighter," Hernblad says, adding rookie firefighters still have much to learn.

But those who can't afford the time or the money to go down south for training can cover the same topics on the job as a paid on-call member.

Hernblad started his career 20 years ago as a volunteer. He says a dedicated student can obtain certification in under three years while working on-call.

For a small pay cheque, these dedicated people work 10 hours a month as part of a buddy system, and spend Wednesday evenings practising drills.

Courses offered at fire department

The same courses taken at fire college are offered by the department, Hernblad says, whenever there is enough interest.

"We'll train them all the way through," he says.

Working part-time helps people see if the job is right for them. Being a firefighter can mean being yanked out of bed in the middle of the night.

"People find out it's too much work," Hernblad says.

For youngsters thinking about entering the profession, Hernblad says high school science and math courses are not a requirement, but with the amount of math involved in tasks like determining the pressure levels of a pump, "it's not going to hurt you."

Even after you receive your initial certification to qualify for a full-time position, the training does not stop. Seasoned firefighters will go through training two out of four shifts, covering everything from skills reinforcement to specialized training in areas such as on-ice rescues.

"We look at training as being very important."