Fire departments in Clare have developed a training program that’s drawing interest from other departments from across the region and the country.
It’s called the Clare Firefighters Association Training Passport.
It uses three levels to assess skill levels and to put new members in places they are comfortable at a fire scene.
Training committee chairperson and St. Bernard fire chief Daniel Gaudet says not everyone feels comfortable rushing into a burning building. He says there are many roles for volunteer fire fighters whether it’s traffic control, operating a pumper or refilling air packs.
Chief Gaudet says they saw a need for a different approach to training.
“We have three levels of certification. Red means you can do any activity on grounds other than fighting fire. Yellow means you can do exterior fire attack and green means interior fire attack. We were going to fires and seeing that not every fire department had the same training. This way with the red,yellow and green system, we can keep our scene safe because we can track the people and what they can do just by a simple colour that they wear on their helmets .”
Gaudet says they train once a month and all fire departments in Clare participate. He says Weymouth has also jumped on board.
He says he’s received inquiries from fore departments from as far away as Alberta and BC and the Clare Training Passport was the subject in a recent article in Fire Fighting In Canada Magazine.
It’s hoped the Clare Firefighters Association Training Passport will help retain and attract new firefighters.