North Shuswap Fire Training Centre Opens
By Jo Anne Malpass
With the opening June 17 of the North Shuswap Fire Training Centre, local fire departments now have a facility for hands-on live fire training and skills maintenance, close to home.
The new fire training centre at Celista Fire Hall was opened with a ribbon burning by Columbia Shuswap Regional District Area F Director Jay Simpson and then fire training exercises with the three North Shuswap Fire Departments and fire training officers from across the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
The two-storey burn building simulates a fire in a single-family dwelling and can also simulate a structural fire with a large amount of smoke and no flame. There are divided rooms, metal windows, an electrical panel, and stairways to the upper level. The Centre also has various props, including a vehicle, propane tank and dumpster, that will be used to provide live practical experience.
After Director Simpson thanked the fire fighters for all they do to keep the community safe, fire training started with a cold start, where a team in full gear goes into the building and then pallets inside are started on fire.
Deputy Regional Fire Chief Sean Coubrough said this gives firefighter trainees the opportunity to get used to their gear and learn to trust that it’s going to protect them when they are in the building. It also lets them see fire behaviour up close. They get to see fire from the incipient stage where it’s just starting off, the growth stage as it builds, right to fully developed, and possibly roll over, where heat and smoke hits the ceiling and then comes down. It teaches them in a safe environment about poor visibility and high temperatures. Then they get to see the effects firsthand of water application and then the effects of ventilation while they’re inside. “We use positive pressure fans and hydraulic venting to clear smoke from rooms and when you can feel the effects of what you are doing, it’s pretty impressive and it really makes a mark on the students as well. We find this one of the most inspiring parts of training.”
Firefighters also practiced exterior fire fighting, proper safety procedures for entering smoke-filled buildings, communications and use of ladders and gear.
The North Shuswap Training Centre is a scaled down version of the three storey burn building and facilities at the Regional Training Centre in Salmon Arm. Local firefighters said this will be of a big benefit, to get this vital training closer to home. Anglemont Fire Chief Graham Lucas explained that on some of their weekend training, they finish at 10:00 pm, drive home to Anglemont, have some home reading to do and then drive back to Salmon Arm to start at 8:00 am.
Team Leader Sutherland said this project has been on the books since he started working with the CSRD six years ago. Use of the land was donated for the centre but there was still a process to go through, getting permission for non-farm use from the Agricultural Land Commission, land preparation and construction of the site. Both Coubrough and Sutherland credit Celista Fire Chief Roy Phillips and the members of the Scotch Creek/Lee Creek, Celista and Anglemont fire departments for the planning, development and construction management that put this together.
Chief Phillips said “we are very excited to start using this facility, it will allow us to practice scenarios using live fire and smoke and help greatly with getting members trained and certified.”
Training and preparation for emergency response is one of the most critical components of the fire service. This centre will serve all three North Shuswap Fire departments, as well as expanding regional training opportunities for all CSRD firefighters.
North Shuswap Fire Training Centre group photo. (submitted by Celista Fire Department)
