LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Nogha Enterprises Ltd. in Fort Simpson is expanding the range of services it offers.

From Dec. 1 to 17 Nogha hosted a training session that nine men completed to earn their oil and gas industry faller certification. The certification is mandatory to work as a faller in British Columbia, and it has been adopted in the oil and gas industry.

Nine men in Fort Simpson took part in training to receive oil and gas industry faller certification. They include, from left, front row: instructor Mark Goring, Billy Cholo, Andy Deneyoua, Skylar Deneyoua, Ernest Tsetso, Gilbert Cazon, chief operating officer of Nogha Enterprises; back row: Kirk Minoza, Darrell Snider, Brian Martineau, Lyle Tsetso and Michael Tsetso. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

During the training the men spent time both in a classroom and out in the field practicing their skills. A lot of the practical skills are about directional control, said Mark Goring, who led the training.

Fallers drop trees where they want to on the ground instead of getting them hung up in surrounding trees, said Goring. With improved accuracy there are fewer hazards, he said.

"The main thing is going home at the end of the day to their families," said Goring.

Hosting the training was the first step in Nogha's plan to offer faller's services, said Gilbert Cazon, the company's chief operating officer.

"We saw an area where we could capitalize on opportunity," said Cazon.

Nogha has always been active in logging and falling within its fire crew programs but now is expanding. Professional fallers are wanted on every seismic program and there aren't enough fallers with the certification to meet the demand, Cazon said.

Cazon said he's already received a number of calls asking if Nogha has certified fallers for projects.

"I've got so much seismic work I need fallers," he said.

The faller services will also be offered as part of Nogha's wildfire suppression services. Cazon plans to organize a crew of fallers that can be exported across Canada.

Fallers have to assess hazards before fire crews can be allowed on fire lines, said Cazon. Fallers can also make the fire lines and construct helicopter landing sites.

"They make everything safe for everyone who follows," he said.

The course was also held to benefit local residents.

People with the certification benefit because they get as much information as possible about safely falling trees. The certification also provides marketable skills for the individual fallers and increases their employability, said Cazon.

All nine men who took the course have worked for Nogha in the past. They will now be in demand, he said.

"They're going to be working after Christmas as much as they want," Cazon said.

Even participants who've been falling trees for years said they learned something from the training.

Darrell Snider has a small business cutting wood locally and selling to customers. Even with all his experience, Snider said he decided to take the course to be safer.

"I've been hurt a couple of times from a falling tree," said Snider.

Snider said he used to back bar - cutting with the pushing chain instead of the pulling chain on his chainsaw - which isn't allowed under the certification. He also learned how to make his cuts in the trees more level. If your cuts are uneven you can lose control of the tree when it's falling, he said.

The certification will open a lot of possibilities, said Snider.

"We can go work anywhere now," he said.

Making flat and level cuts and not back barring are two things that Skylar Deneyoua also learned.

"I feel more confident cutting a tree down now," Deneyoua said.