聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Usually the Carlyle Fire and Rescue volunteers work in unison, organized and precise, to save lives and fight fires, but on Saturday, June 6, they took these skills to the Carlyle Sports Arena where they held their first annual Lobster Fest Fundraiser.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In a sold out event, 160 people attended to support the local fire department and enjoy a delicious menu, with people already asking to buy a table for next year鈥檚 event.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e work as a well oiled machine and strive to be the best of the best,鈥� Trent Lee, Carlyle Fire and Rescue鈥檚 Fire Chief, explained. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 do anything unless we do it professionally.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The doors opened at 5:30 p.m. with supper served at 6:30, which was then followed by the auction.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Dave Powell of Regina, a Certified Chef de Cuisine, was in charge of cooking the fresh lobster, who is also the father-in-law to Lee.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽On the menu were mussels to start, followed by clam chowder and Caesar salad, coleslaw and potato salad were also on the menu with carrot cake for dessert.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The piece de resistance, however, was the fresh lobster which was flown in from Nova Scotia the day before, which was done to perfection by the chef.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After a short demonstration of how to dine on a full lobster, the amassed crowd began on their delicious meal.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although Lee was unsure how much was raised at the time the paper went to press he did say, 鈥淚t was definitely successful. I think it would be around $10,000, but I don鈥檛 know yet for sure.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There were approximately 20 silent auction items and four live auction items, which all went over well.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his is a fantastic community with wonderful businesses that support and help the community grow,鈥� Lee stated.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The fundraiser was held as a way for the Fire Department to raise money for a new training facility, which has been a project that has been looked at for a few years now and is something that Lee sees a need for in the community.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e have about 20 firefighters right now,鈥� Lee explained. 鈥淲e were down to 10, but picked up a couple new guys.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although it鈥檚 good to have new guys on the department this is where training gets tricky for them Lee says.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ithout a facility to train them in it gets difficult,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭hey all need their basic firefighter which is about a 200 hour course. That doesn鈥檛 give them leadership training or any specialized training, it鈥檚 just the introduction. All the guys need hands on training.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lee said that they used to do live burns on old farm houses that people wanted to get rid of, but that they haven鈥檛 seen one of those in four or five years. Currently they do as much ground training as possible but without more hands on training for the volunteers to become as knowledgeable as possible it鈥檚 difficult.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really have an opportunity to practice,鈥� Lee continued. 鈥淲e have a 50 foot ladder, but no body鈥檚 going to let us put it up against their house to train because there will be some damage to the eaves troughs because it hasn鈥檛 been trained. We do have them put on the self contained breathing apparatus and get comfortable with wearing a respirator, but without live burns they can鈥檛 really be completely ready.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This issue Lee says isn鈥檛 one that is just Carlyle specific either. As the President of the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs, Lee has attended numerous conferences and information meetings as a representative from Saskatchewan. What became obvious was that the issue of training is one that transcends through the majority of volunteer fire departments.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his is not only a Carlyle problem, it鈥檚 a Saskatchewan problem and a Canadian problem,鈥� Lee stated.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For this reason Lee continued, 鈥淭here鈥檚 potential there to take this and run with it. We don鈥檛 need a high class or fancy facility, but we need to make training available to our fire department and we could make it available to the entire province.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 To have a fire school in Carlyle would also benefit the community Lee explained as it would draw in firefighters from across the province to train here. This would bring people into the community to stay at the local hotels and to eat at local restaurants.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As for the facility for the Carlyle volunteers, Lee said, 鈥淚t can be difficult to get volunteers to give up a weekend, which can make getting all the training they need almost impossible. If we have the facility here we could go there after work every other week for a couple hours and our training would become more efficient and effective, which would bring us up to the recognized standard.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lee encourages people to support their local fire departments because, 鈥渟adly fire service struggles until something bad happens and people realize it鈥檚 an essential service.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to the tax payers to tell their councils what they want. Do people just want basic service, a fire department that shows up and can only spray the house down from the outside and contain the fire, keep it from spreading, or do they want a fire department that can show up and possibly save someone inside, that can do interior/structural, high angle, water rescues, hazardous goods response. It鈥檚 up to the tax payer what services they want.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For Lee, he wants the best for the community: 鈥淢e personally, I like doing things as best as they can be done. It does take financial support to do that, but fire services are about protecting people鈥檚 lives and property. Without proper training it鈥檚 difficult to do.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Training is something that is ever changing as well. Lee described two situations regarding a 25-year-old house and a new house when fighting fires. The 25-year-old house would take between 45 and 60 minutes to reach its flash point (the lowest temperature which a material can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in the air). In new homes it鈥檚 considerably shorter 鈥� taking less than three minutes at to reach the flash point.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚f they鈥檙e not trained in what they need to watch for or expect, such as watching smoke conditions, bad things are going to happen, which is why it鈥檚 essential to train properly; to experience these conditions in a safe atmosphere,鈥� Lee explained.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With Occupational Health and Safety standards to follow and the importance of keeping his fire fighters safe, Lee finds it important to make sure they are as educated as possible, which is why he has been a huge supporter of fundraising for the department.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just get away with the basics, we need people trained properly for any situation,鈥� he said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Thus, the importance to Lee and the Carlyle Fire Department of acquiring a facility that would allow this kind of training.
