WAKAW — Rural fire halls surrounding Saskatoon are having to deal with escalating thefts that could put rescue efforts in jeopardy.
Earlier in December, the RM of Grant Fire Hall, located in Vonda, was also broken into. A variety of hand tools and rechargeable batteries for operating the tools, worth about $3,000 , were taken. Earlier in the fall, Borden Fire and Rescue posted on social media of surveillance footage taken when they were broken into and brand new emergency radios were stolen, leaving the department helpless for a period.
In a recent break-in at the Pike Lake Fire Hall, operated as a satellite hall by Delisle Fire and Rescue, the Jaws of Life Combi tool was taken. The Jaws of Life extrication device is used to cut through metal and help dislodge people from crushed vehicles, and the cost to replace just that one tool is anywhere from $14,000 to $18,000. Delisle Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Given stated they were still able to respond to extrication-related calls in their coverage area as they still had the necessary tools at the Delisle Hall, but waiting for the tools to arrive would add extra time to extrication efforts.
The rural fire service is an asset that is too often taken for granted. It is the foundation of the fire and emergency response system in rural areas and without the necessary equipment, they cannot do the job to the best of their ability. Volunteer firefighters dedicate untold hours to training and responding to emergency situations whenever they occur. The thefts are not only detrimental to fire halls staffed by volunteers on shoestring budgets which are dependent on fundraising, but they could also affect response times or the help a firefighter could provide during an emergency. “It’s really unfortunate because like this is one of our busier times of [the] year. Not only did they take equipment, but they also could have caused a delay in service if we were to have a call that night or early that morning,” Florizone said in response to the break-in at the RM of Grant Fire and Rescue.
For most people in the community, public interaction with fire department members does not come from crews responding to an emergency they are having, it comes through daily interactions when the members are going about their daily lives. When most citizens think of their fire department, often the only thing that comes to mind is fighting fires. They do not necessarily think of when they work a code, respond to a vehicle accident with injuries, or mitigate any other number of instances, because those events are attributed in peoples’ minds to police and ambulance services.
One positive said to come out of the recent string of burglaries is the level of support from the local communities and volunteer fire departments across the province. Shortly after the Pike Lake hall was broken into, Fire Chief Given got a call from the owner of Tans-Care Rescue, a Langham-based company, who was on vacation in Texas, asking Given what he needed. By 9 a.m. the next morning, the Delisle and District Fire Department had a new Jaws of Life tool.
In the bustling chaos of emergencies and flames, the bond between firefighters becomes more than a professional connection. It evolves into a brotherhood and that brotherhood extends far beyond the fire station, as firefighters support and care for each other even outside of work.
If anyone has any information on these break-ins they are asked to contact their local RCMP detachment of Crime-Stoppers.
