Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

RANKIN INLET - Officers from volunteer fire departments across Nunavut were in Rankin Inlet for a week of intensive training earlier this month.

The course was funded by the Municipal Training Organization, and instructed by deputy fire marshal Robert Prima of Rankin and the fire inspector for Kingston Fire Rescue, Del Blakney of Kingston, Ont.

The five-day program included both class instruction and practical exercises.

Rankin fire Chief Alan Stebbing said the training was focused on incident command.

He said the course dealt with how officers take command of a fire scene and properly direct their firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

"It takes all the training the officers have all ready learned and presents everything in a big picture perspective," said Stebbing.

"Our firefighters know how to ventilate, put water on a fire and search for people.

"This showed them how to, as command, look at a fire scene and identify their priorities, then assign the firefighters their respective jobs and ensure they do them."

All 17 firefighters passed the course, which included a practical exam and a written quiz on the material covered.

Stebbing said every officer who attended was given a turn as incident commander.

He said a huge part of the program focused on safety and accountability - having a system in place which allows you to keep track of the firefighters and not lose anyone.

"If something were to happen, you could quickly figure out if somebody's been injured or if any of your firefighters are unaccounted for.

"These, of course, are things that are extremely important to know as quickly as possible during an actual working fire."

Stebbing said not knowing how many firefighters will respond to any given call is always one of the challenges that face a volunteer service.

He said a message the instructors continually pounded home with the course participants was that priorities don't change, and the number-one priority will always remain life safety.

"That includes the safety of the firefighters and any casualties at the scene, and then the protection of property.

"You never take unnecessary risks with people's lives in any situation."

Stebbing said incident commanders must often make important decisions based on the number of people they have at a fire.

He said with every fire department in Nunavut being staffed by volunteers except Iqaluit, it's imperative for commanders to know how many firefighters are on-board a vehicle as soon as it leaves the station.

"An incident commander must have an idea of what he has to work with and whether he needs to put out a second page for the firefighters.

"Sometimes you just can't do everything you want because you don't have the resources."

The person who assumes the role of incident commander can vary from situation to situation.

The vast majority of fire departments have officers ranging from a fire chief down to one or two deputy chiefs, captains, lieutenants and senior firefighters.

Usually, the first officer or senior firefighter to respond to a situation takes command until someone higher in rank relieves them.

Stebbing said he was proud of the effort each of the 17 participants put in during the training session.

He said Rankin was Blakney's first trip to Nunavut, and he found the community to be warm and welcoming.

There's even a possibility he may return to Rankin to conduct an instructor's course this coming March.

"He (Blakney) shared a few of his own personal experiences with cold-weather firefighting with us, including once when he found himself frozen to a ladder because of all the water being sprayed.

"And that wasn't nearly as cold as it gets up here on a regular basis."

Stebbing said Blakney was quite impressed by the skill level he saw. He said some people may not realize just how talented many Nunavut firefighters really are.

"There is a great skill level among many of the personnel here in Nunavut.

"And, not only do we have highly-skilled firefighters, many are the type of people who are willing to learn how to take what works in their community and strive to improve it."