NIPAWIN — A firefighting school hosted by the Nipawin Fire Department gave the chance for volunteer firefighters to learn new skills and meet with old friends.
“We assist the Sask. Volunteer Firefighters to put on the weekend,” said Brian Starkell, Nipawin’s fire chief. “Both parties divvy up the profits so there’s a little bit of money to be made as well. The funding that we make here goes towards equipment for the fire department.”
There were 256 students and 30 instructors at the school April 20 to 22. Among the courses taught were the proper use of personal protective equipment and self-contained breathing apparatus, fighting fires in vehicles, the proper use of ropes and ladders, extracting injured people out of vehicles, and how to escape from a bad situation.
“They range from the beginner right down to the senior guy taking some officer courses from the office of the fire commissioner,” Starkell said.
The first day of courses started with theory, taken within the classrooms of LP Miller Comprehensive. The next day, the students went to locations all around Nipawin to get the hands-on, practical training. That was followed with more classroom learning, if necessary.
It wasn’t all work. There was also a banquet on April 21 where the students and their significant others had some social time – along with award presentations and speeches from the province’s fire commissioner, MLA Fred Bradshaw, mayor Rennie Harper and Saskatchewan Volunteer Firefighters president Doug Lapchuk.
The next day, before everyone hit the road, there was also a goodbye barbeque.
There were also 18 vendors selling firefighting products at a trade show in the school gym.
Starkell said Nipawin has hosted the event, which happens twice per year, seven times.
“Nipawin hosts it approximately every five years. It’s been three years since we hosted the last one. It doesn’t have to come into Nipawin,” he said. “Any department can host it as long as we have some equipment to use.”
The fire chief added that it’s also important to have enough accommodations for 250 firefighters.
“I’m glad everybody’s here and I’m looking forward to the fellowship afterwards,” he said. “You see these people once or twice a year so you get to renew your friendship again with them.”
