Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Monday, March 26, 2007

TALOYOAK - Many kids look at firefighters with awe, and Wesley Totalik was no different when he was a youngster.

"Ever since I was a little boy I admired them," he said.

Ten years ago, he signed up with the Taloyoak brigade. He has since ascended the ranks to become fire chief.

Although the community has had few fire emergencies over the past decade, practice is still essential. Totalik and his brigade of one dozen - a number he hopes to boost in the near future - usually assemble weekly to hone their skills.

Taloyoak, with a population of approximately 950, is fairly well-equipped with a fire hall and fire truck that are only three years old, Totalik noted. However, they don't have an abandoned building to do drills in, so they improvise.

To simulate going into a burning residence, the firefighters don their gear and oxygen tanks, and wrap a towel around their mask. Then they find their way around the fire hall using a left-hand or right-hand search, Totalik explained.

"That's one of my main concerns is to help people in a burning building," he said.

In the rare instance when a fire call sends their hand-held radios blaring, the first reaction is usually a racing heart and an adrenaline rush, but then "once we get to the scene we use our training," said Totalik, who is employed as an observer/communicator at the airport.

He and captain Joseph Oleekatalik were in Rankin Inlet last week to further their training on a 10-day officer's course.

They were anticipating lessons on maintaining equipment and a refresher in first aid.

Keeping prevention in mind, the firefighters periodically go into the schools to give fire awareness presentations to students, said Totalik.

The fire chief said people in his community seem appreciative of his efforts.

"People always thank me for being a volunteer," he said.