Canadian Volunteers

[Potzy]

Hello to all of you,

I am writing an article on Canadian Volunteer Firefighters. If this is you and you could spare a little time answering some questions for me, please let me know.

Thanks in advance,
Laura Potz
lollypotz@hotmail.com

[WFD999]

Sure glad to answer a couple. Post them here and sure you will get plenty of good answers from us.

[Potzy]

I'm writing this artical for the first issue of a new Canadian Magazine which may or may not get published. My husband is a volunteer firefighter here in Ontario and I have a huge respect for what you guys do. I thought it would be neat to write up a paragraph or two about at least 1 volunteer firefighter per province, explaining what drove them to join and either what their department is like, or what their most exciting experience has been. I do not wish to pry. I will not expect any personal answers or a last name. If any one would like to be profiled, please, please, please let me know. A picture will not be necessary, but it would be nice. I am not receiving any money for this article, so I can not pay you. I can however mail a firefighting crest to those I include in my article. (I will also send you what I've written for your approval before submission)

[Whitewater_419]

I don't mind posting my personal details for joining:

We moved from Toronto to Beachburg in May of 2003 - We have three kids, one of whom is diabetic and the other is multiply and severely handicapped (Angelman Syndrome) - Moving to a small town, I worried that my son (the angelman syndrome child) might not be treated too well because of his obvious differences from everyone else - Was I ever ***WRONG*** The village welcomed him with open arms, the Beachburg Public School bent over backwards to make sure the school was accessible and that he had an one-on-one aide, the teenagers in the village were more than happy to babysit him and weren't afraid of learning to deal with seizures, drool, etc, and the local community services people went far, far beyond the call of duty in ensuring that there are services for my son to make his quality of life a good one.

In short, moving to Beachburg was the best thing that could have happened to my family. So, when the opening came up on the firehall, I thought that there was one tiny way I could repay my community for their kindness by being a volunteer firefighter (I will, however, admit that being a firefighter is the *coolest* thing I've ever done - what kid hasn't imagined what it would be like to be riding in a big red firetruck with the lights and sirens blazing - and I'm doing that now! :)

Those were/are my reasons for joining, which I also mentioned during my interview - I'm beyond glad I was taken onto the force and given the chance to give a little back to my new community.

-Marc Bissonnette

[WFD999]

Hi Laura,

I moved into rural northern AB as a teenager with my parents in 79 and was soon impressed by the sense of community as we were welcomed by the people we met. That sense wore off I guess. As a kid I always dreamed of being a cop or a firefighter.
Well I guess some dreams do come true. I know with myself and other members of our crew it gets into your blood. Been at this for 16 years now and one of our guys has been at this for 34 years now. The first call I went on was a farm yard we saved the barn and all of the equipment. except for a crispy tire or two there was no great loss. We came to find out later that they werent insured. Knowing that our crew not only helped out a niebourgh but also we were told that they probably could not have stayed on the farm if it was a total loss. Today those folks got over that rough spot and still farming today. Being able to give back to the community by volunteering is rewarding in so many ways. Being able to see people at thier very best lets you know there is still alot of good left in this world. In our department we have a tight group of people. I do belive I forged so of my strongest friendships in that hall. Dont worry about paying. As volunteers we got a 100% raise last year. OH a 100% of nothing is still nothing. LOL

Derian Rosario

[wilderness]

Morning,
I'm from a small rural village in Eastern Ontario. Most people in this area work outside of the area, but for myself i have employment in the village. I figured when i was alot younger that i would do my part and volunteer, not realizing the comitment i would have to give. I wasn,t mature enough, having to much fun, not taking the training seriously, so after a few years i stepped down. Now 7 years later, getting married and being blessed with a great woman and two kids, i reapplied to the fire service and are having the time of my life. The men and women at the hall are my second family, we train every two weeks and have the opportunity to attend the Ontario Fire College. We put our life into the department, we get an hourly wage for fire calls, we don,t have shift work, we don,t have three days on four off. We work 24/7 365 days of the year. the pager goes off or the village alarm rings we drop what we are doing, regardless if its our kids birthday party or not. It requires comitment and sacrifise not everyone can or are willing to give, so those of us who do this, stand tall, take pride..... we are not vollies... we are FIREFIGHTERS...

[rescue1008]

Well lets see.. it all started when i was younger.. Myself and a good freind were walking through a back alley and we smelt something that was very gross ( lol we were kids ) so just being curious we decided to go take a look, well we didnt get that close to figure out it was a shed full of tires that were on fire, so the both of us then went to a store close by and told them to call the fire department and left to see what we can do. So then after a few minutes we found a hose and tried to put out the fire but it was not working too well so we kept trying, after a few minutes we noticed these flashing light behind us it was the fireman to help us. The first thing we thought *** WOW look at the fire truck. So i guess i had my calling as a kid to be a fire fighter and now i made that wish come true.

So i hope this will some what help you... but if not thats ok too :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Eno_75]

Back a couple of years ago I was working another job in downtown Calgary. It sounds really cloak and dagger to get into the details, so I'll leave most of them out because it doesn't really change what ends up happening. I ended up stumbling in on a convenience store robbery and chased the guy through downtown to Baker House right around the corner (as some of you may know) from the number 1 station. Anyway, I finally caught up to him (the fact he'd been carrying a cash register just about the whole way helped). He gave me some sob story about giving up and that I could let him go. By being a trusting kind of guy and understanding he'd get more sympathy from the court by surrendering to me and the police, I let him go and sort of relaxed my guard long enough for him to pull out a 9" blade. We wrestled again a bit and he shoved this fricken thing in my lower back. Fortunately, not to the handle!

Anyway, so this is all taking place... a few things happen... and another guy comes across me while I'm bleeding all over the place from the wound and other defensive slashes (I'm on the phone by now talking to the police as I'd called them before and had to hang up when I gave chase) and sort of started walking me to the street to get closer to where the ambulance was going to show up. Of course, I'm starting to bleed out and things aren't looking so good- maybe they're not in fact that bad... they're just not looking very good from my standpoint. Things are looking bad... so what do I try to do? This guy helped half drag me over towards one station. Unfortunately- I didn't make it quite far enough. I might have been about 60 feet from walking around the corner and stumbling in the door. I couldn't make it, so I staggered to a halt and laid down and bled some more- feeling pretty sorry for myself and becoming more faint.

It was about that time I saw the big red and white pump roll up beside me... and the crew were jumping off with their med packs to come over and give me a hand. It really was an amazing feeling... completely undescribeable- and as we were on our way to the hospital with a cop driving, a firefighter in the back with me and the two medics craming what felt like 1 gauge needles in my arms, I made a promise to myself that I would do anything I could to try and spread that same incredible sense of relief to people in trouble.

I've now been on my department as a volley for about a year and a half and signed up for over 500 shifts, taken every course I can get enrolled in and attended somewhere in the neighbourhood of 250 calls in my pursuit of that promise. The money isn't great- but the pride is.

[Potzy]

Wow, thank you so much for your wonderful stories. This article is going to be great! Would any one mind including a picture of themselves? If not, that's okay too. Feel free to email me with any comments/questions/suggestions. lollypotz@hotmail.com

[LTPVFD]

Greetings Potzy !!

I have been in the volunteer fire service for 12 1/2 years. I started out in Whitehorse, Yukon. A couple of co-workers were volunteers, and asked if I would be interested in joining the department. After giving great thought to the committment required, I decided to make the leap. I haven't regretted it.

Since then, I have been a member of two other departments. As a member of the R.C.M.P., I am periodically subject to a transfer. On my last transfer, I based my choice of where to reside, on the availability of a fire department I could join.

Over the course of my firefighting career, I have had duties ranging from firefighter to Assistant Chief/Training Officer. Each and every location, and assigned duty, has been a learning experience. I particularly enjoy the training assignments.

Since joining the service, I have found it to be a lifestyle. Sure there is a big commitment, and your family life can suffer, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Why do I do it - simple - service to my community - whether it be battling a large blaze, speaking to various school classes on fire prevention, to attempting to revive someone's loved one on a cardiac arrest call. My training, along with the training of my colleagues, can and does make a difference in my community.

LTPVFD