CANORA - Volunteer fire fighters in rural areas are keenly aware of the need to look for training opportunities in order to be prepared for a wide variety of emergencies.
Canora and District Fire Rescue was accepted into the TREX (Transportation Rescue Extrication) program, and hosted a vehicle extrication training session in Canora in April, according to Fire Chief Jess Harper.
“The TREX program is an initiative set forth by SGI and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Association to provide adequate training and equipment for vehicle extrication to small town departments like ours,” said Harper. “TREX stands for Transportation Rescue Extrication. Through this program we are receiving not only education on vehicle extrication but a new set of extrication tools as well.”
Participating fire fighters from Canora as well as the surrounding communities of Ebenezer, Rhein and Invermay took advantage of the opportunity to benefit from instruction from Seahawk Specialized Truck Service
“Mike Beamish and Aryton Falconer from Seahawk came out to not only teach a vehicle extrication class but they also allowed us to test out the tools we will be receiving through the TREX program,” said Harper.
CDFR covers a large area for rescue services around Canora and surrounding rural municipalities, enhancing the value of this type of a learning opportunity.
“We feel that having programs like the TREX program are crucial to keeping up our skills and education to better serve our community.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to SGI and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Association as well as Seahawk for giving us this education and opportunity,” said Harper.
“Baillie Boys Towing also played a big role in the success of the training by supplying us with vehicles to practice on. And finally we would like to thank Ebenezer Fire, Rhein Fire and Invermay Fire for sending their members to join us for the training.”