RANKIN INLET - A total of 18 volunteers from across Nunavut were in Rankin Inlet this past week to take their Level One firefighting course.

The course was instructed by retired fire captain Mike Masserey of Winnipeg.

After a week away, Masserey will return to Rankin to conduct a Level Two course this coming week.

Both sessions run for 10 days.

Masserey said most of the people who attended the Level One program were totally inexperienced.

He said the volunteers' confidence grew as the week progressed.

"We covered a number of topics, including building construction, fire theory - or what you need for fire to take place - and what you need to do to contain and extinguish it," said Masserey.

"We also trained them on four different types of fire extinguishers, as well as personal protective equipment and self-contained breathing apparatus.

"Then we covered fire streams and the advantages and disadvantages of straight, broken and fog streams."

Masserey said the group took part in live burns, including four vehicle fires. He said the firefighters also sat in a large canister on the training grounds to actually observe a fire.

"We watched the fire go from where it starts, begins to heat things up and then reaches rollover, which is when we extinguish it.

"If the fire went to flashover, we'd all be in trouble."

Masserey said a number of the firefighters were a little apprehensive when the course first began.

He said early on he thought there may be a couple who wouldn't make it through the program, but everyone ultimately passed.

"We had one guy who had to do a rewrite, but that was more to do with his difficulty in reading the English on the exam and understanding it.

"When Michael Aksadjuak of Rankin Inlet translated for him, he scored above 80 on his final test.

"Everyone of these guys will go back to their community and help fight fires.

"In fact, I hope to see a bunch of them at the Level Two course when I return to Rankin this coming week."