FORT ASSINIBOINE- The Fort Assiniboine Fire Department is looking for a few good men and women.
Currently, the department has about 16 members. Fort Assiniboine fire chief Devin Williams says ideally he would like to see the department's ranks be between 20 and 25 members.
Williams was not sure exactly how many members the department had as he just recently culled the membership list taking people off who have not attended training sessions or callouts for some time.
"We are not doing too bad on the membership," he said. "Just before COVID hit we were going to go on a bit of a recruitment blitz but in the early weeks we had to curtail our training sessions a bit because of restrictions and were limiting who could enter the hall."
The department is planning to hold a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1001 Level 1 certification course in the new year. The NFPA 1001 course sets the standard certification for professional firefighters.
Williams noted that the department's training sessions were not the only thing that was impacted by the coronavirus.
In the early weeks of the pandemic, he said the department was being dispatched to far fewer medical response calls.
"Through the [Medical First Responder] we were down to taking the Delta and Echo calls and not to every medical call which we usually do, because of COVID," he said.
Delta and Echo categories are considered life-threatening medical issues.
However, Williams noted that has changed and the fire department is once again attending all medical calls.
"Again, this wasn't just our department, but everyone. It was because [Alberta Health Services] wanted to limit potential exposure, but I think they changed it because a lot of departments were asking for it to be opened back up," he said. "We have PPE that we wear, especially when we respond to any respiratory calls and we also have special protocols in place for any known or suspected COVID cases."
Williams said his members are glad that dispatch is once again calling upon them to respond to medical calls, noting the department and Woodlands County, has spent a lot of money and effort in equipping the department to respond to medical calls. This is partly because of the distance the hamlet is from both an ambulance station and a hospital.
In addition to having several members trained to paramedic standards, the department has its own medical unit or ambulance.
Williams noted that the ambulance does not transport patients to the hospital, but they can respond to calls up to the Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) level. PCP is the second-highest level of care in the Medical First Responder program. Only Advanced Care Paramedic is above it.
"It is a level of service our residents want and we are very fortunate that [Woodlands County] agrees because there is definitely a cost attached to it," he said, noting that cost is somewhat offset by provincial grants available through the MFR program.
Williams added because of the hamlet's proximity to the Athabasca and Freeman rivers, the department’s firefighters also get the opportunity to train for river rescues.
For more information about the joining the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department contact the Williams at 780-305-4183 or e-mail at [email protected].
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
