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City looks to bolster volunteer firefighter ranks

Recruitment drive on now until Aug. 5
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This is part of a poster being used by Greater Sudbury Fire Services as it recruits volunteer firefighters in the city this summer. Go to www.greatersudbury.ca/living/fire-services/volunteer-firefighting/ for more information. Supplied photo. 

Residents whose childhood dreams of becoming a firefighter didn't pan out take heart: the city is looking for a few good women and men to join the volunteer ranks.

New recruits are being sought now until Aug. 5 to join Greater Sudbury's unionized roster of volunteers, who number about 270 now, about 30 short of a full complement.

Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell said Monday that volunteers are recruited every year to replace those who leave. 

"There is a natural attrition process with volunteers over the course of a year,” Oshell said. “Some leave due to personal reasons -- moving, work. Some find that it no longer fits their lifestyle due to family commitments.

"So we lose a few volunteers every year and normally we recruit each year to fill those spots."

Ideally, the city likes to have about 15 volunteers in place for each of the 20 volunteer stations. Greater Sudbury is unique in that some areas of the city – Valley East and Sudbury – have full-time firefighters, while the rest have volunteers.

That's a result of amalgamation in 2001, when seven former towns and cities were merged to create the new city. Communities served by volunteers pay a lower property tax rate, a system known as area rating. When asked whether recruiting is getting harder, Oshell said it depends on which area of the city.

Volunteers reside in the community in which they serve. 

"We would always like a few more,” he said. “The ideal number is, at a minimum, 15 volunteer firefighters per station. 

"In some areas, we absolutely (that many), in others, we're over. But we do see challenges in recruiting individuals in certain areas of the city. So it's always a challenge to meet those numbers. We do the best we can and often give priority to those stations for recruitment."

A particular challenge in attracting enough volunteers is demographics, Oshell said. 

"In certain areas, there really just aren't a lot of individuals who would be applying," he said. "Usually the outlying areas, the further points of the the city, are the hardest to recruit for."

If they pass the initial application process, successful recruits receive 40 hours of training in the fire training centre in Azilda. And each station has a training captain and a training officer that comes to the station to work with the recruit.

"So they have mandatory (training) that is done at the station, as well as that initial 40 hours of training that is done on the training grounds," he said. "After that, they are on probation for one year, and during that time, their duties are restricted so that they have an opportunity to learn and gain experience before they are signed off and allowed to do all firefighting duties."

Additional testing and training is conducted every year as long as they volunteer. Volunteers must be high school graduates at least 18 years old with a Class G driver's license. They must also have access to a car, have their First Aid and CPR certificates and be in good physical health, since you will carry nearly 100 pounds of equipment.

Duties include responding to fires, medical calls, water rescues, car accidents and be able to attend training sessions. You must also be cool under pressure, not be afraid of heights, not be claustrophobic and be willing to respond to a pager anytime day or night.

To boost their efforts, Oshell said they created a recruitment video last year as a trial. 

"It was very successful,” he said. “This year we expanded its use and we're running it through the whole campaign.

"It gives a really good picture of what a volunteer can expect."

"We're really hopeful that people in the community who wish to become volunteers do apply, are engaged and are willing to be a really meaningful, participating volunteer with the fire service."

For more information on volunteering, go here.

Watch the video here:


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