Five new firefighters are on the job with the 100 Mile House Fire Rescue team.
The new recruits finished their training program in mid-June and are now on the paid on-call roster for the fire hall.
The recruitment process started in mid-February, and the training process took up their weekends and Wednesday evenings for two months through the spring.
“The recruits should be very proud of their accomplishments,” says 100 Mile House Fire Chief Roger Hollander.
The additions bring the Fire Rescue team up to 30 members, 28 of which fall into the paid on-call roster and have day jobs as well as firefighting.
Ryan Dugaro is a new recruit with the department and normally works at the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre.
Handed his pager two weeks ago, he’s already attended two fires with the fire hall.
“I’ve been really impressed since day one with the way I was included in the hall and the sense of teamwork, and also the sense of responsibility and in the aspect of training — that we try to be as safe and professional as possible. The level of professionalism really surprised me,” he says.
He joined for the challenge of the job after a friend explained how the department recruits.
“It sounded like a good opportunity for me to build my own skills and do something that’s quite different from my regular work,” he says, although he adds that at their core, his work with youth at the CFEC and firefighting are both about helping and supporting people.
100 Mile House Fire Rescue recruits throughout the year, although their main drive happens in February.
For a small fire hall, Hollander says the 100 Mile House detachment is quite busy.
Last year the hall averaged one call a day. This year they are already 42 calls ahead of last year, making them busier than both the Williams Lake and Quesnel halls.
This can be a good thing, says Hollander, especially for recruits.
“They do get a lot of experience and their training is applied fairly quickly and that’s a good thing. It’s also a good service to be able to provide to the public which is why we all signed up for this.”