‘Complete confidence’: R.M.’s new volunteer fire department fully operational

Saturday night, shortly before 5 p.m., the R.M. of North Battleford’s new volunteer fire department was put to the test for the first time.

A car rolled over and a woman was trapped inside.

While the call was outside the department’s jurisdiction, members responded and were forced to use the Jaws of Life to open the door. With the help of paramedics on scene, the volunteer firefighters helped calm the girl down, extract her and get her to the hospital.

“It went textbook perfect,” Fire Chief Neil Good said. “They worked together and we are incredibly happy to have people that are able to work under pressure but still stay calm, which was an absolute must for this lady in the situation.”

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Good was recruited by the rural government to help establish the department from the ground up in just five weeks, after the city of North Battleford and R.M. parted ways on a fire services agreement March 31.

The partnership was brought under the microscope and first called into question early in 2019. A five-year agreement to supply the R.M. with services from the city’s fire department ended on Dec. 31, 2018.

The city initially offered to provide service on an on-call basis until Feb. 28 and extended this deadline to the end of March in late January. Each call was individually billed to the rural government.

In late-January, the rural municipality started recruiting volunteer firefighters as a contingency plan.

Good brings over 30 years of firefighting experience to the department. He spent 33 years in Battleford and just under a year in North Battleford. Since his hiring in the R.M., the chief has worked rigorously to recruit and prepare the hall.

Twenty-five firefighters have signed on, four of whom bring a vast amount of experience and knowledge with them, according to the R.M. Equipment has and continues to be purchased and training is “progressing nicely.” Good said wildland fire training was completed in late-March and sessions with SaskEnergy, OH&S and STARS have been ongoing.

“I am incredibly proud of the brilliance that each individual person is bringing forward,” Good said, noting one volunteer with EMR training is able to bring common sense approaches to situations.

To the ratepayers who are now funding their own independent department, Good assured they are in good hands.

“I am completely confident,” he said. “I am extremely proud of where we have come in a short period of time.”

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr