KAKABEKA FALLS – An in-depth training session in Kakabeka Falls this weekend is helping volunteer firefighters respond to car accidents in the Thunder Bay region.
Participants in the auto extraction training session are spending 24 hours over three days sharing techniques and best practices for removing passengers stuck inside a vehicle. Twenty one volunteer firefighters from nine departments as far afield as Greenstone took part.
Trainers from the Toronto and Kirkland Lake areas led the sessions, which involved an evening of theory, before participants tried the techniques out on donated scrap cars.
Sarah Shoemaker, the Fire Chief for the Nolalu Emergency Services team, helped organize the session. She says departments like hers located near a major highway can respond to several car accidents a week. Without the training, those in an accident might have to wait for a neighbouring department to arrive.
Shoemaker says it’s the first time volunteer firefighters in the region have had access to this kind of in-depth training.
The session was also notable for its rate of female participation, at nearly 30 per cent. Shoemaker says that ratio is “unheard of” in Canadian firefighting: “It’s empowering the next generation of firefighters. It’s encouraging for me as a female firefighter to see.”
Tiffany Runciman is one of those women. She has worked with Shoemaker on the Nolalu Emergency Services team for six years, and on the fire team for three years. She says female representation is increasing, and that having women like Shoemaker in leadership roles helps inspire others to join.
Runciman says having the chance to try out techniques in a training environment will help responders stay calm and focused in life-or-death situations.
“If you haven’t had any experience on it before,” she explains, “your main focus is on ripping apart the vehicle, instead of protecting the patient.”
Shoemaker touted the dedication of the volunteers who attended the session. “They’ve given up their weekends to come out here and do this,” she said. “Noone gets paid for it, they do it because they’re passionate about serving their communities.”
