BY BARB BLAKELY
The majority of us carry on day to day, oblivious of the fact hundreds of people are continuous alert in case we need them to come to our rescue, says Sudbury Police Staff Insp. Brian Jarrett.
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He is talking police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency service personnel.
?About 90 per cent of people don?t know what we do except to see us drive by,? Jarrett says.
He sees this as positive because it means this is a safe community where the majority is neither in trouble with the law, or in need of their help.
Mike Mieto, All Nations Church associate pastor, asks us to envision the chaos there would be without emergency service personnel.
?We can only imagine what our city or society would be like without these essential services,? says Mieto. ?All of our families would be adversely affected.?
All Nations will host an Emergency Services Appreciation Sunday, Sept. 14, at 10 am, at Fraser Auditorium, Laurentian University.
Recent forest fires in Western Canada, and the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have raised public awareness about the need for essential services people, he says.
?I believe the emergency people realize that the general public appreciates them,? he says.
The City of Greater Sudbury Police Service includes 242 officers, and a support staff that is made up of 90 full-time employees, and 25 part-time workers.
Local police respond to about 150 calls each day, ranging ?from cats in tree to stolen autos.?
The number of calls answered by the 40 full-time and 18 auxillary officers with the Sudbury detachment of the OPP varies immensely from day to day, says Community Services officer, Michelle Coulombe.
While OPP may answer as few as seven calls on a slow day, the number skyrockets during the first snowfall and on long weekends.
The City of Greater Sudbury Fire Services employs about 120 career firefighters, while an additional 300 volunteers help protect the city from fires. There are 25 fire stations thoughout the area, with five stations housing career staff, while the remaining 20 are used primarily by volunteer firefighters.
There are 92 full-time, and 26 part-time paramedics who ride in Sudbury?s 19 ambulances, eight paramedic response units, and one emergency support unit.
Joseph Nicholls, Emergency Medical Services acting director, says EMS staff respond to almost 100 calls daily. About 70 per cent of the calls are considered emergencies, while another 30 per cent are of a non-urgent nature.
The type of calls that are considered non-urgent include transferring patients from one hospital site to another.
Those who protect the area must face some grim realities.
?It?s routine that you would be in harm?s way. That?s what we do,? says Jarrett.
The Sudbury force has lost two officers in the line of duty in recent years.
OPP officers often have to deal with death from another perspective, says Coulombe.
One of the worse things you have to do is deliver a death notification.?
Coulombe says during these incidents officers generally do their jobs and act like professionals, but deal with the grief once their shift is over.
Donald Donaldson, City of Greater Sudbury Fire Services Chief, says danger is such a routine part of firefighting that his staff is exempt from health and safety laws that protect most people from other vocations from taking unnecessary risks.
?We take those risks to help save lives, but not to save somebody?s property,? he explains. ?However, if there?s a kid in there, we?ll go in at all costs.?
When asked why someone would choose an occupation that would cause them to put their life on the line, Jarrett, Coulombe, Nicholls and Donaldson all respond with the same answer.
They all say emergency service personnel choose their careers because they want to make a difference.
And in spite of the risks, they all say there are no regrets.
?I?m in my 32nd year, and there?s nothing I would rather do than be a police officer,? says Jarrett.
Those wanting more information about Emergency Services Appreciation Sunday can phone 673-6110 or e-mail [email protected].
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