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By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com
The Municipal District of Taber Regional Fire Service had a new arrival in 2024.
“In February we received a new Pierce Responder Fire Engine,” said Fire Chief Nathan Coté, who also serves as director of emergency management. “This apparatus was ordered at the end of 2021. It has been placed into service at Station 4 MD of Taber Regional Fire Department here in Taber. This truck was designed to meet all of the requirements of a structural firefighting engine, with several additional options to best suit wildland firefighting.”
Some of the features of the new engine include pump and roll capabilities, 4-wheel drive, front bumper-mounted turret joystick operated from the cab, front bumper trash line, booster reel, aluminum hose bed cover, foam injection system and direct tank fill connection.
A full municipal service, the MDTRFS relies on a team of 84 volunteer firefighters, six district chiefs, a deputy regional fire chief, and a regional fire chief committed to providing emergency response services through six regional stations including Hays (No. 1 – 228A Central Avenue), Taber (No. 4 – 5418 64 Avenue), Grassy Lake (No. 2 – 736 1 Street South), Vauxhall (No. 5 – 935 1 Avenue North), Enchant (No. 3 – 211 Railway Avenue) and Barnwell (No. 7 – 18 6 Avenue East).
Year to date, the MDTRFS has responded to approximately 199 calls to service:
23 – Alarm No Fire
11 – Fire
2 – Natural Gas Leaks
4 – Carbon Monoxide Alarms
12 – Medical First Response
5 – Public Hazards Power Lines Down
61 – Public Service Assist other Agencies (Assisting Police, EMS, Mutual Aid, Funeral Home, etc.)
1 – Rescue Miscellaneous
37 – Rubbish or Grass Fires
43 – Vehicle Accidents
With volunteer firefighting services, recruitment is always a concern, but Coté is pleased with the numbers he has been seeing for the MDTRFS and appreciates the recent change to a paid-on-call model.
“The MD of Taber Regional Fire Services continues to work on the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Our number of members seems to be holding steady. We are currently sitting at 84 members throughout the Regional Fire Service. Each station is always looking for new members to join our amazing team. In July 2024, we switched to a paid-on-call model for our members. Our Council wanted to recognize, support, and appreciate the work that our members commit to. We hope this change will assist us as a recruitment tool in bringing new members into our department. It is also a great retention tool. We want to be able to show appreciation for the continued incident response, training, and practice nights our members attend.”
MDTRFS Personnel
2 – Regional Chiefs
10 – Station 1 Hays
13 – Station 2 Grassy Lake
9 – Station 3 Enchant
21 – Station 4 MD of Taber Regional Fire Department
22 – Station 5 Vauxhall
7 – Station 7 Barnwell
Community engagement is always key for MDTRFS, and Coté is convinced the service does an admirable job at reaching out.
“All of our stations are pretty engaged with their communities. We provide fire hall tours and fire prevention activities for schools throughout the MD of Taber. Most times this is in the form of Kindergarten classes touring the fire halls. We have also been providing tours for homeschool groups, children activity groups, and daycare activities.”
Other assistance is offered to local businesses throughout the region.
“We are engaged in performing fire inspections for local businesses,” said Coté. “This gives us the opportunity to build positive relationships with the businesses in our area while working toward fire code compliance. The intention is to educate businesses on fire safety for business continuity, employee safety, and the public visiting those businesses. We have been able to participate with some of our businesses in emergency drills. This includes participation in their tabletop exercises where they are building and testing their emergency plans. This is a great relationship-building activity that assists both the fire service in learning how the company will respond to an incident and also a way to educate the company on what the fire service can offer during potential emergencies.”
Some of the other fun activities the MDTRFS have been engaged in this year include:
– Food Trailer activities during Barnwell Days and Cornfest
– First Aid activities for multiple events like the Taber Tough or Old Man Mayhem
– Fireworks activities in Barnwell and Vauxhall
– Demolition Derby activities
– Parades in Vauxhall and Barnwell
– Hosting the first annual Emergency Services Ball Game, Police vs. Fire
– Candy Cane Food Drive
This past year saw multiple training opportunities for MDTRFS members:
– NFPA 1002 Driver Operator
– NFPA 1002 Pump Operator
– Alberta Fire Training Conference in Lethbridge
– Critical Incident Stress Management Training
– Incident Command System 100
– Incident Command System 200
– Incident Command System 300
– First Aid Training
– First Aid Instructor Training
– NFPA 1001 Level 1 & 2 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications
– NFPA 470 Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations
– Electrical Vehicle Emergency Response Training
– NFPA 1041 Level 1 Fire Service Instructor
– Alberta Fire Chief Association Conference
“We are very fortunate that we receive great support from our Council with regards to training,” said Coté. “Our members appreciate the opportunity to train, including certified fire training courses. They appreciate the support enabling us to host certified training locally. We are also fortunate to have access to two training centres located within the MD of Taber, one in the Town of Taber and the other in the Town of Vauxhall. Our training programs continue to make use of both of these facilities, and we hope we will have continued growth in both to continue to offer world class training locally.”
“This training is provided free of charge to our members. We also work with our mutual aid partners offering training courses to each other with the goal of stretching our training budgets. Again, this training is free of charge for our members. When it comes to the training of our members, we would like to see them complete the NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, NFPA 470 Hazardous Materials, and Intermediate First Aid. Completing these courses is a big commitment which we are truly grateful for.”
There are numerous additional courses which MDTRFS will host from time to time:
– NFPA 1002 Driver Operator
– NFPA 1002 Pump Operator
– NFPA 1041 Fire Service Instructor
– NFPA 1021 Company Officer
– NFPA 1006 Confined Space Rescue
– NFPA 1006 Vehicle Extrication
– NFPA 1006 Rope Rescue
– Critical Incident Stress Management Training
– Incident Command System 100
– Incident Command System 200
– Incident Command System 300
– Electrical Vehicle Emergency Response Training
– Grain Bin Rescue
– Livestock Emergency Training
– Numerous Conferences and Workshops
– Safety Codes Officer Training
New in 2024, the MDTRFS for the first time began providing a Medical First Response program.
“In 2024 the MD of Taber Regional Fire Services began a Medical First Response program within our fire stations,” said Coté. “This program allows our fire department members to respond to very serious medical emergencies prior to the ambulance arriving on scene. This allows our members to begin potentially life-saving treatments earlier. Our program is only designed to attend very serious calls or if requested by the ambulance to assist. Our goal is to provide a service to our citizens, helping them in their time of need. Our desire is to benefit our citizens in the outlying areas who will be waiting for an ambulance to respond during a medical emergency. Our Fire Departments may be located closer than the ambulance and we may be able to help prior to their arrival.”
“Our members provide the Medical First Response service at an Intermediate First Aid level. Our members have been trained to the Intermediate First Aid level and will continue to re-certify as needed. The program allows us to partner with Alberta Health Services which allows further training and education through their programs.”
Mutual aid to other departments was provided twice in 2024, a relationship the MDTRFS is happy to facilitate.
“We pride ourselves on having great relationships with our mutual aid partners,” said Coté. “This year we were called twice to assist a neighbouring municipality with large fires. Both times we were able to spare the apparatus and members to assist. These relationships build a foundation of safety for everyone in our area. We trust our neighbouring municipalities would not think twice about assisting us should the need arise.”
On the recreation and fundraising front, department members went yard this fall for an opportunity to support HALO Air Ambulance.
“On September 21, the MDTRFS Fire Association hosted the first annual Emergency Services Baseball game. This year we saw the Town of Taber Police take on the MD of Taber Regional Fire Services. The Town of Taber Fire Department was there in spirit as shortly before the game they were called to service with a fire call. It was a great event with everyone having fun. There was a bouncy castle and other events for the kids, a 50/50 draw, and raffles available to those who attended. ‘Wild’ Bill Lawson was the MC for the event with some great music for everyone. Oh, and a helicopter landed on the adjacent baseball field. It was great to have our partners with HALO make an appearance. All proceeds from the event were donated to HALO. There was over $3700 raised.”
On Thursday, the MDTRFS is hosting their annual open house.
“We will be holding an open house during Fire Prevention Week at our Fire Station in Barnwell on October 10. The event will be from 6 – 8 p.m. We would love for people to join us for an exciting evening filled with fun, education, and community spirit. There will be fire truck tours, activities for kids, free hotdogs, fire prevention information, recruitment packages, and more.”
Finally, Coté wanted to thank the members fighting real fires and responding to emergency situations throughout the municipality that work together to keep people safe.
“We just want to give a huge thank you to all our members. The commitment and dedication of each of them is second to none. We appreciate their willingness to respond, practice, and take training all in the name of public safety. They always drop what they are doing to answer the call and assist others. They live up to our core values every day and respond with Altruism, Integrity, Diversity, Honour, and a sense of Community. We also thank the families of our members. They also volunteer, just in a slightly different way. Their strength and encouragement mean the world. We are truly blessed to have their support.”
“We would also like to thank the employers of our members. We understand that having an employee run out the door at the sound of a pager is very disruptive to the workplace. We thank you for your support and appreciate your willingness to allow them to attend emergency calls. Without the support of the businesses, we wouldn’t have fire departments throughout the Municipal District of Taber. We thank you!”
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