Over the last few weeks, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services have been teaching new recruits how to save victims from a burning building, how to put out a fire and how to control where a fire is going in a building.
“Today, it’s all about their own safety,” says Cpt. Sean Larkin, during one of the department’s many training days. “When things go wrong inside that burning building, what they can do to save themselves.”
About 80 per cent of the time when something goes wrong and a firefighter is trapped inside of a burning building, notes Larkin. “It’s us that have to get ourselves out.”
According to Larkin, new recruit training is typically 12 weeks long. “We do 10 weeks of their fire training and they learn everything it takes to be a firefighter and two weeks of EMS training, to supplement what they already have before they come here.”
Seven recruits are part of the new batch of future firefighters and first responders.
“Of those seven, five of them will be advance care paramedics and the other two will be primary care paramedics. The training they get is intensive. It’s not a lot of time and there’s a lot of information to go over,” says Larkin.
Lethbridge residents are fortunate to have an emergency services department that provides a dual role of both firefighter and EMS.
“The way our system works is you can be on an EMS call and the next minute you’re going to a structure fire. Our members are highly trained and highly qualified in both areas,” says Larkin. “It helps our staffing levels get to an appropriate range where we can fight fires and handle EMS calls.”
Presently, the department is working towards four-member engines. “We’re still currently at three-member engines. We’re slowly increasing our staff, getting them trained up and ready to go.”
“We’re hoping by next year we’ll be able to obtain that. That’s why it’s so important when we go to a fire call the members on the ambulance are helping boost our fire response,” adds Larkin.
Ongoing recruitment is imperative, due to retirements, the addition of new units and more ambulances on the ground.
“We’re trying to add to that all the time and working with the province on doing that. Both with retirements and growth, we’re trying to keep up,” says Larkin.
New recruit Dorothy Graham says the training experience, so far, has been “awesome.”
“Everyday I’m packed full of knowledge and I’m sore and I’m tired, but it’s a dream come true,” says Graham. “It’s so fun, engaging and challenging. It’s really wonderful.”