ESTEVAN - They come from different backgrounds and professions, but the six probationary members with the Estevan Fire Rescue Service have one thing in common: they're eager to serve the community.
Darson Gunnlaugson, Aaron Norris, Nathan Rae, Brandon Schoop, Colby Wainman and Tanner Weger-Brandow comprise the latest contingent of recruits. They're about midway through their training, and once it's successfully completed, they will have their professional firefighter designation.
As part of Fire Prevention Week, the Mercury spoke with each of the new members.
Darson Gunnlaugson:
Gunnlaugson said he wanted to join the department because he really likes helping people, so he thought this was the best way to be there for the community.
"It's been great so far. There's so many things to learn, there's so much to do. It's really been an amazing experience," said Gunnlaugson.
There are so many skills he has learned related to putting out fires, responding to different rescue operations and utilizing different ropes, ladders and equipment.
When he was accepted with the department, he thought it was going to be an amazing experience, and so far it has lived up to his expectations. There is such a great team on the department and he says he is getting along well with the other members.
"If it's something that you're capable of doing, if you're motivated by helping people, it is such a rewarding thing to do," he said.
Aaron Norris:
Norris brings lots of experience to the EFRS, as he previously served with the department in Oromocto, N.B., for six years. Being a firefighter was something he always liked to do, so he thought he would give it a try in Estevan after he moved to the community. It's been a good experience to date.
"I've learned how to adapt from department to department. Having six years of experience with one department, and coming to a completely different province where everything is done a little bit differently, I learned to try and adapt and work with the way that they do stuff as opposed to what I'm used to," said Norris.
His time in New Brunswick has helped. He joined the fire department in Oromocto out of high school and didn't know anything about the work.
The other members with the Estevan department have been great to work with, he said.
Nathan Rae:
Rae said he joined because he wanted to set a good example for his son and he wanted to give back to the community he grew up in. While he's only been on for nine months, he's learned a lot, from tying knots to techniques for putting out fires to responding to collisions.
"It's more just observing and things like that, but you learn lots of different things," he said.
Rae said everyone on the fire department has their strengths that he can learn from, especially those with experience.
"There's a lot of different people from different walks of life at the department, so it's cool, it's a neat experience."
Rae said he would recommend being part of the fire department to others, but he pointed out it's a commitment on top of everything else people have in their lives.
Brandon Schopp:
Schopp is one of two new recruits who has been part of the Mine Rescue Team at Westmoreland Mining LLC. He said joining the EFRS has been a really good experience, with dedicated members to learn from.
"I've been involved with the rescue team out at Westmoreland for the last 10 years, and I just heard that there was an opportunity, that they were looking for more volunteer firefighters, and I just decided to expand my skill set and give it a try."
There has been some overlap from what he learned at Westmoreland, but there is a lot of new material for an EFRS recruit. He believes the fire department has a really good way of doing and explaining things.
Several members of the fire department also work at the mines, so Schopp knew them before joining. And the EFRS and the mine rescue team participate in joint training once a year, so he knew other firefighters as well.
Colby Wainman:
Originally from Carnduff, Wainman said he wanted to join because he wanted to help the community and meet some people in Estevan, since he didn't grow up in the Energy City.
He has learned how to climb ladders when responding to a call, the angles for those ladders, and how to properly access a hydrant when fighting a fire.
His time with the fire department has enabled him to meet new people. They had a social outing in September and they have an annual banquet that happened shortly after he joined.
"It's been good. They've been welcoming. It's nice people to work with and all of that good stuff," said Wainman.
Tanner Weger-Brandow:
Weger-Brandow is the other new recruit who has some experience through his tenure with the mine rescue team at Westmoreland Mining LLC. He's been on that squad for the past five or six years, and so he's gone through similar training, which has helped with what he does with the fire department.
The mine rescue team taught him an advanced first aid course, confined space training and rescue, high-angle rope rescue training, and proper use of fire extinguishers.
"There's a lot of gear that we've trained with through mine rescue that we wind up using for fires," said Weger-Brandow.
But he has learned a lot about the fire trucks and how to extinguish grass fires, as well as the structure of the department.
Weger-Brandow said he joined the fire department because he wants to help people in the community. He's glad he joined and the other firefighters have been great. They're a tight-knit group.
Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies and Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Luc are pleased with the progress of the latest recruiting class.
"They fit fairly well into the team," said Luc. "Everyone's got that go hard or go home attitude, which is good."
"They're all willing to take training and do things," added Davies.
Training of the recruits started in January. Luc said they went through 50 hours of basic training in the first few months, touching on the high points of what could be asked of them to give them an idea of what they're getting into.
Then they transition into getting their 1001 professional firefighter qualifications. Luc hopes the firefighters can go through the final training next June, but it depends on the group and the availability of those administering the test.
The EFRS currently has 26 paid on-call firefighters, including the probationary members. Davies, Luc and fire assistant Rhonda Gillespie round out the department.
