(Photo by Cory Knutt)
The Lacombe Fire Department is seeking new recruits to help serve the community in critical moments.
Lacombe Firefighters Mitch Lyle, Brooks Thompson, and Captains Zach Walker and Trevor Wilton were available to meet with interested individuals during the Lacombe Employment Centre’s Fall Job Fair last week.
“We had quite a few people stop by to get some information and learn a little bit about what they're getting themselves into,” Wilton said. “It can be a pretty big commitment, and not everybody realizes that at first, but we had a lot of people stop by, and we were pretty excited about it.”
The fire department is searching for individuals who are team players, who enjoy physical fitness, and who are drawn to the emergency services lifestyle to fill paid on-call positions.
“We're trying to build up numbers and have a strong core of people to help run calls,” Wilton said.
There are around 30 members right now, but Wilton is hopeful to bump up the roster to about 45 by the beginning of next year.
The team completes a training program that lasts roughly six months, along with weekly training.
New recruitment training starts with an international accreditation for the standard qualification for professional firefighters' course over three to four months.
The course includes First Aid, incident command system training, and basic firefighting skills.
“From there, you do a ride along with the crew, then you start coming to calls,” Wilton said. “It gets pretty exciting pretty quick,”
Wilton explained that a good firefighter is someone who is a strong team player, who is comfortable working with people, has a good head on their shoulders, and is physically fit.
“We do a lot of hard work, and so you have to be willing to put in a little bit of sweat hours,” he said. “From there, we can teach you the rest just a good attitude and effort.”