Volunteer firefighters of all levels of experience will gather in Lake Country to be challenged physically and mentally with a unique and diverse palette of training sessions this spring.
The Lake Country Fire Department is hosting the annual Volunteer Firefighters Association of B.C. Spring Training weekend May 24 to 26, 2019.
“This annual training event has been part of BC history, leading the way in providing hands-on training to firefighters all over BC,” said Steve Windsor, fire chief and director of Protective Services for Lake Country.
“This is the first time the Spring Training event has been held in Lake Country. We expect over 350 firefighters from all over the province plus 150 coaches, instructors and volunteers to take part in this exciting event.”
Specialty training in auto extrication, wildland urban interface firefighting, aircraft rescue, and boat safety/marine rescue is included in the course offerings. Many smaller fire departments in BC don’t have the opportunity for this type of training on a regular basis, so the Spring Training event is very valuable for volunteer and paid-on-call fire departments like Lake Country. Sessions at the Kelowna Airport and at the Live Fire Burn Building training centre in Vernon have been in high demand.
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“Our goal is to provide great hands-on training so each firefighter can bring some new techniques back to their department to share what they learned with their fellow first responders,” said Eric DeGelder, event organizer and LCFD Fire Inspector. “We’ve even got sessions on emergency medical care for pets, gas meter/electrical power pole MVA emergency response, para tech stabilization – that’s air lifting bags and rescue support systems – and rope rescue demonstrations scheduled.”
Class sizes are limited so fire departments are encouraged to register their crew members as soon as possible to get a diverse training opportunity for all. Registration is available online or by mail with the course list and downloadable registration form available at www.lakecountry.bc.ca/2019firefightertraining.
A Friday evening meet and greet barbeque will give firefighters a chance to share experience and knowledge with their brothers and sisters from throughout the province in a casual setting. Special group rates have been arranged through UBC Okanagan conference accommodations and Wood Lake RV for those that prefer to camp.
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