As the half-barrel full of oils burned, a youth grabbed a fire extinguisher, spraying at the base of the flame to stop the blaze. Then the fire was relit and the process repeated itself.
That was the scene at the Carrot River Fire Department’s Youth Fire Boot Camp after the youth, which ranged from ages 14 to 17, listened to a half-hour lecture on which fire extinguisher snuffed out which blazes.
Scott Debienne, the fire chief, said this was the second year of the boot camp, held Oct. 13 to 15.
“It’s a way of introducing youth to the fire service, potentially leading to the possibility of a career choice, as well as helping out their home community.”
The youth learn how to extinguish fires, use equipment properly, receive some CPR training and do a few fire simulations. The hope is the camp will ignite an interest in the youth to join their fire departments as junior firefighters.
Due to laws and policies, junior firefighters can’t do the exact same tasks as firefighters over the age of 18, but they can get the training they need to be effective firefighters. Debienne said one of his junior firefighters, for instance, has more experience using self-contained breathing apparatuses than some of the firefighters that have been on the force for years.
“When they reach 18, they should have a fairly good working knowledge of firefighting and become a very good asset to their community if they decide to keep doing that,” he said.
Debienne said he’s seen some of his junior firefighters become full-time firefighters and join companies involved in fire prevention.
The fire chief said the youth camp is an investment for the future, that it’s a way to develop a volunteer firefighting force in the coming years.
“Juniors aren’t totally the answer for today, but if we can get more people interested in the fire service at a younger age, then as they get older, they become more helpful for us.”
As far as Debienne knows, the youth camp is the only one of its type in the province.
“If this program continues to grow, it can basically take and help develop junior fire programs in other communities as well to do the same type of things as what we’re doing in Carrot River.”
