The Sundre Fire Department has a new temporary location to prepare for a variety of emergency scenarios.
Residents might by now have noticed the modest two-storey structure made of two shipping containers located next to the Town of Sundre's office on the open gravel parking lot area. It was put in place on Sept. 21, said Rob McBride, the fire department's training officer.
Although that location will not be permanent, it at least provides the department with the opportunity to use the training facility in the meantime. While there is a great fire training facility in Olds that members of Sundre's department have used in the past, that extra distance requires planning for additional travel time, he said last week during an interview with the Round Up.
“Having one in our backyard just makes it way more convenient to train the members.”
There are a variety of skill sets volunteer firefighters will get a chance to improve, including the use of self-contained breathing apparatus — smoke machines will simulate those scenarios, ventilating or clearing smoke from buildings, coordinated and controlled movements through smoke-filled rooms, search and rescue training as well as ladder, rope and hose work, he said.
“Some of the bread and butter things that we do.”
But since the facility is situated right in Sundre, training scenarios for now will not include live-fire drills, he said.
“Where it is right now, we don't want to build fires there.”
However, the possibility of live-fire training scenarios will remain open down the line once a permanent location is established, he said, adding the department is engaged in talks with Mountain View County regarding the possibility of securing a location. The facility was funded by a corporate sponsorship as well as contributions from the Town of Sundre and the county, he said.
Having such an asset “is going to be great,” he said.
“One of the problems we have is finding a place to do ladder work and hose work inside a building.”
The facility will therefore provide an ideal training ground to prepare members of the department for specific scenarios. Additionally, it will also help newer members get up to speed more quickly in a safer and more controlled environment, he said.
As the structure is fairly new, the fire department has not yet had the chance to extensively put it to use, and McBride said he was looking forward to organizing a variety of training scenarios.
