Shane Code’s first year as the chief of the Estevan Fire and Rescue Service has been a busy one.
Not only has he had to handle the usual assortment of tasks associated with being the chief, but he has also implemented a number of changes.
One of the biggest has come in their recruitment process. While the fire department is always looking for applicants, the timing of the screening process has changed.
When Code first arrived, the fire department would hire applicants at any time. Prospective firefighters could learn through reading textbooks, and by teaching and instruction on Monday nights.
Code said they now have application intakes in the spring and the fall. They do interviews, with questions around specific firefighter competencies.
“We are looking for the right candidate and the right fit,” said Code. “We understand there isn’t a huge lineup at our door, and volunteerism is way down. Even though the firefighters are paid on-call, we consider it essentially a volunteer position.
“But we’re looking for people who genuinely want to do the work and do the time commitment.”
Interviews were expected to begin in early October and continue until the middle of the month.
Successful applicants will undergo a 40-hour course on evenings and weekends to ensure they’re trained, safe, capable and competent. Code and Deputy fire Chief Dale Feser have designed the program.
Code said a paid on-call firefighter can face a significant time and resource commitment. Families need to be prepared to support the firefighter, and the firefighters need to understand they will be called out on evenings and weekends.
“With the oil downturn, people are nervous with their employers,” said Code. “They don’t want to skip away from work.”
Family and work come first, he said.
Code said they tried the system for the first time in the spring. They had eight applicants and accepted three to join the department. One of them dropped out about two weeks later. The other two, Wes Beacom and Mike Hannan, have been exemplary.
Hannan had a previous stint with the department, while Beacom is a rookie.
“It’s nice to have a selection of folks to choose from, and basically top-ranked candidates get taken first,” said Code. “That depends on a lot of things, like their training, their background and those competency-based questions where we ask around competency, teamwork and leadership.”
Code said they currently have about 22 active firefighters. He would like to see more people join, and eventually he would like to have a roster of more than 30 firefighters.
“I’d like to increase our volume so that when we have a large fire, a large disaster or we need the help, there are more resources to draw on,” said Code.
The firefighters are a good group of people. They receive really good training and equipment, but also life skills they can use at home and on the job.
“I like to refer to the fire department as a community that serves itself,” he said.
The department has also modified its aerial truck to be better equipped. The aerial truck, which arrived in 2012, is the No. 2 truck in the fire department’s fleet, but it was not fully equipped for firefighting purposes.
If there’s a large fire, then Code said engine 1-8 and other trucks would be called out. But that would leave Estevan without another fully-equipped truck if another fire broke out.
“We’ve made sure we have two trucks with equipment to be appropriately ready to respond as the front line truck, which has a very specific series of jobs when it shows up at a fire,” said Code.
Cutting tools, a chainsaw, a ventilation fan, parts, and still components and adaptors have been purchased. The ventilation fan is a key component of firefighting, and it was tough to find something that fit the aerial truck.
When Code first arrived a year ago, he asked the firefighters what they needed. They identified concerns with equipment that needed to be adjusted and modified so it was ready in case of an emergency. Code said it’s a work in progress.
“Every fire department has pieces or components that need to be adjusted, tweaked, fixed or modified as it continues to meet a changing community’s demands,” said Code. “This is no different. We’ve made an adjustment, and it wasn’t so much of an oversight as much as creating improved value in service.”
The other change has been implementing a designated phone line, answered by a duty officer, to reduce the number of call volumes. The line is for their allied partners, such as police agencies and EMS, and is designed for situations that require a fire department response, but not necessarily the full department.
Code said they have noticed a difference already. He believes it has resulted in a reduction in call volumes for the firefighters, particularly for the alarms, which account for the majority of the
department’s call.
