Regional District of East Kootenay's (RDEK) Firefighter Work Experience Program has finished, helping train locals to assist with wildfires in the Elk Valley, South Country and Columbia Valley.
Eight students gained practical experience in firefighting, medical calls, wildland fire and highway rescue at fire departments in Jaffray, Baynes Lake, Elko, Hosmer, Fairmont, Windermere, Edgewater and Panorama.
“This year’s Work Experience Program was successful in enhancing our seasonal regional wildfire readiness and response resulting in positive results on several occasions,” said Columbia Valley Rural Fire and Rescue Service chief Drew Sinclair.
“These qualified firefighters were able to broaden their experience and skill base in a number of disciplines while bolstering our existing paid on call numbers and allowing us to increase our public outreach programs this year as well," Sinclair added.
“The positive contributions that our WEP students made allowed us to not only respond to fires and emergencies within our region in an effective way, but also meant that we had enough coverage in our home halls to allow members from our departments to assist in other parts of the province during heavy wildfire activity this year,” explained Elk Valley & South Country Rural Fire and Rescue chief Michael Hockley. “The program has proven to be incredibly successful both for the students and our Regional Fire Service, and I hope to see it continue for years to come.”
