FIRE ACADEMY

The JI Fire and Safety Tr~ining
where emergencies are resolved
On any weekday, and most weekends, the Fire and Safety Training Centre - F&STC, as it is referred to by most of the employees, is a busy place,
with as many as 100 people being instructed in the arts of emergency response - firefighting, auto extrication and dealing with hazardous materials releases, to name a few. Fire trucks may drive past, siren and lights
active, heading for the burn building, while students in astronaut-like garb
respond to simulated chemical leaks on the rail tank cars.
The busy scene is repeated almost
year round, as students come from across
Canada, and even some from Washington State, to learn how best to respond to
emergency situations. Firefighters, mariners, industrial workers and government
employees; all come to experience the
hands-on training on which the faculty
and staff ofthe F&STC pride themselves.
Theory in the classroom, followed by
practical application in the field, using
simulations which are as realistic as possible - and there is nothing simulated
about the fires. Whether it be the faint
suspicious puff of smoke from the bum
building, the detection of hot steel at the
ship or the full rolling blaze of the T-pit,.
the students respond in a safe but aggressive manner to contain, confine and extinguish.
At times the training grounds resemble a war zone with dozens of car
bodies, dismembered reminders that
learning has taken place here, in how. to

safely extricate a patient from the wreckage.Burnt-out wrecks in neat rows may
denote where the personnel of BC Ferries have been learning how to combat
vehicle fires.
The Centre is not unique, but few
training schools offer the diversity of
training available here. It is certainly the
most unusual school of its type in Western Canada. This is partly explained by
its unusual history.
In 1968, the Marine Training Centre
(located on Dundas Street), part of the
Vancouver Vocational Institute, established a small fire training ground at

The Centre is not unique,
but few training schools
offer the diversity of training
available here.

Boundary Bay, for the purpose of training mariners. The International Requirements for Certificates of Competency
demanded some (basic) firefighting
training.
In 1983, this school moved to the
present location in Maple Ridge, near the
Golden Ears and Blue Mountain. The Il
was to share the site with the Pacific
Marine Training Institute, which the old
MTC had become, but funding for this
was delayed. However, in 1994, the Il
proudly opened the bum building, and
the Fire and Safety Training Centre came
of age, as a facility to serve the needs of
fire departments, industry, transportation
and marine personnel. ·
The experience gained from years of
fire training, whether by the Fire Academy at.the bum buildings of Nanaimo
and Fort St. James, or from PMTI training the hundreds of mariners who attend
the school each year, is now being made
available to all who require the skills of
firefighting. The Centre is now an integral part of the Il Fire Academy.
Perhaps the most exciting development has been the initiation of regular
recruit firefighter classes. For twelve
weeks young men and women attend
classes to learn the basics of their profession. They are rigorously tested and
learn the best that the Centre can give,
drawing from all the training programs
Continued on page 3, F&STC

OCTOBER 1996

TRAINING

Tried,- tested and screened
The Fire Academy is initiating another
selection process this September for the
Fire Fighter Recruit Program. Since its
inception there have been a number of
questions asked regarding the screening
process: what's involved?; what steps
need to be taken?; how to apply?; and
where to get the information? To help
clarify and answer some of these questions the following is a brief summary
of the process.

Watch the Career Section of the Sun
and Province papers. To initiate the
screening process, an advertisement is
placed in the Career Section of the Sun
and Province papers. At this point, application packages are available for pick
up at the Justice Institute Registration
Office.
Prepare to be Tested: Candidates are
required to complete a series of tests
which include a written examination,
Justice Institute medical examination and
a physical performance assessment. This
process is similar to what Fire Departments have done in the past with one significant difference - the cost and responsibility for completing each step lies
with the candidate.
Update your Resume: Upon successful completion of all three test compo-

nents candidates should next submit their
application with resume to the Justice
Institute ·Registration Office. After this
information has been received a panel of
Fire Officers will review and screen the
applications in order to determine a short
list of candidates for interviews.
Prepare for an Interview. A selection
panel including representatives from participating Fire Departments, the Fire
Academy and the BCPFFA will interview the short-listed candidates and notify those that are successful.

Attend the Course: The successful
candidates will be required to successfully complete the Justice Institute Fire
Academy Recruit Program before being
confirmed as a probationary fire fighter.
More detailed information about the
process is available for pick up at the
Justice Institute Registration Office or the
Academy Reception 'Area. Or· call the
Recruit Screening Process Information
Line at 528-5662.

Recruit Firefighter Training
In an effort to heuer p lan for the tklivery • i th' Recruit Program, we a k
that all Fire DepattmenU; who are planning to hire pe pie in the ne t year or
o and wanL t o ha th m tmined al
tbcJu Lie In titute Fire Academy n
ti.f. Bob Aide rn. D puty Dire 'lor 0f
the fjr Aead m at 528-5671 .
The Recruit F irefighl r Training
Program will be offered on the f 1lowing I re In I 9 & 1997:

January 6 - M arch 28. 1997
M_arcb: 3 - May 23. 1Y97
A pr:i.1"'8-Jul 18 . 1997
September 15- December 5 . 1997
The Recruit Program qualifies ch~·
student l the BC Fire Fighter tandanb and NFPA 1 Level I & Lew 1
B. Firsl Responderlevel III in ludi og J\ ED. and Management of Spinal
In_iuric:, an<l Hazard u: Materi al Rc'>pOn!>e t the Opera1i n. Le l.

Recent Fire Academy Recruit Firefighter Training Classes: Class 3 - Thundering Third and Class 4 - The Fighting Fourth. (Photos by Charlotte Klassen)

2

THE FIRE ACADEMY NEWS

Road Sense Driving Course and
Legal Issues presentations big hits
on the Island

Fire Academy
provides screening
process service

By Al Lund, Director, PTEC
The north part of Vancouver Island
was a busy place for training earlier this
year. One hundred and fifty three
firefighters representing twenty-one Fire
Departments attended PTEC's Road
Sense Driving Course and Legal Issue's
Presentations. The January courses were
hosted by Chief Rick Bentley of Comox
Fire Department. Firefighters from the
Comox, Coal Harbour, Coombs-Hilliers,
Cortez, Courtenay, Cumberland, Deep
Bay, Denman Island, Fanny Bay, Homby
Island, Parksville, Quadra Island,
Sayward, Union Bay, and Zeballos participated over the two days.
Comox was a great host, providing an
excellent lunch each day by the local
gourmet firefighter chefs at Comox. The
two days provided a great opportunity
for the participants to interact and share
information.
In late J anU:aiy, PTEC took the program a little further north to Port McNeil.
Gloria Le Gal and Chief Larry Bartlett

at Port McNeil hosted the two day program with great success. Fire Departments ·from Port McNeil, Port Hardy,
Coal Harbour, Hyde Creek, Sointula and
Holberg were in attendance and were
served a great lunch by the Port McNeil
Pathfinder Girl Guides.
I also had the opportunity to visit the
beautiful island of Sointula and visit with
Fire Chief Linda Sowden. It was a pleasure to deliver our Road Sense Driving
Course for the first time to firefighters.
Their enthusiasm and participation in the
program was greatly appreciated. All the
departments in attendance were given a
Road Sense Driving Video to use in their
local communities.

TOO Fire AcaJ cmy has be n able
to ac n mmodate dt~ partmcnls
~~ cr.:ening reque ts in a variet, of
w:i ys. The screening: process for the
Firt! Fighter Recruit Program is
·urr.:-ntly being u~ed to;
• scredn :mdidates fnrtbe R{' ruit
Pr gram
• ., ·reen Fire Department olunt~er s for their own in hou e
tr:tining
• screen Fire Departmenl volun-

teers tu cnta the Fire Figlller Recruit Er gram at th ...• Ac ademy.
If you are intere ted in lh.i. Sl'rvh"» nt.a t Marianne G ttfrie<l.
Coordinator, Re ruir Ser' ning

Pro e sat52 -5 64forparti ulars
:i nd osts.

Carbon Monoxide
Awareness Week

Accreditation
by Delegation

Continued from page 1, F&STC

- building fires; hazardous materials
response; manne firefighting; rescue and
first aid.
Whenever possible, courses are designed to exceed the appropriate standards, whether NFPA, Transport Canada
or other. Courses may be designed to
meet the needs of a specific industry,
training group or corporate client. In
some cases, training will be presented at
a client's own facility, which is not only
cost effective, but ensures the course content is both site and product specific. This
ensures maximum relevance to the learners.
The Managers of the Centre would be
pleased to discuss training needs and programs offered. Call (604) 462-1000 or
fax (604) 462-6149.
OCTOBER 1996

Carbon Monoxide Awareness
Week is September 22 - 28th. The
goal is to educate as many Canadians as possible about the sources,
symptoms and prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning. This
year, the CAFC and First Alert are
turning to fire departments in communities across Canada to help
achieve this goal.

The Fire Academy has completed the
Guidelines.for Accreditation by Delegation. These were mailed out to all Fire
Departments on July 26, 1996.
The International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) provides
for an Accreditation Entity to delegate
its authority to a local jurisdiction. In
delegating authority, the local jurisdiction must comply with all the By-laws
of the Certificate Congress of IFS AC.
The Guide outlines the requirements
a local jurisdiction will be required to
meet in order to receive Accreditation by
Delegation.
Additional copies of the Guidelines
are available from the Fire Academy by
fax request (528-5660), identifying name
and mailing address.

3

Fire Academy to host Conference
The Fire Academy will be hosting
"The Association of State, Provincial and
Territorial Directors of Fire Training
Conference" October 3 to 5.
The theme of the conference is "A
Canadian Perspective" with presentations on fire service training being made

STAFF NEWS

by all Provinces and Territories with the
exception of Quebec, who declined the
invitation.
In addition to delegates from North
America, three individuals are coming
from the Fire Service College, Moretonin-Marsh, England.

Pre-hydration and Heat Stress training video
By Rich Brjdeson
Retired Deputy Fire Chief
Victoria, BC

When the WCB Rules and Regulations, Section 68, made the wearing of
full protective clothing (bunker pants)
mandatory, it very quickly became apparent that a new problem, namely metabolic heat stress, was created.
The Victoria Fire Department had ten
incidents of heat stress in the last few
years, the majority with time lost to enable staff to recover. At three of these
incidents, the fire fighters required hospitalization for treatment.
In conjunction with BC Ambulance
Service (Mr. John Heavener, Mr. Randy
L'Heureux, Mr: Bryce Miller, and Dr.
Ken Buchanan), a Pre-hydration and

D

0

0

Ms. Anne Langdon
leaves Fire Academy
0

0

f\(l(l(l
Heat Stress Recognition, Prevention and
Treatment Program was created.
The final step to completion is underway with the production of a training
video funded by WCB and produced by
Artray Film and Video (a division of
CHEK-TV). This video will be produced
for firefighters (full-time, volunteer, industrial and forestry).

Block Tuitions

FIRE ACADEMY

NEWS
The Fire Academy News is published by
the Fire Academy, Justice Institute of
British Columbia, 715 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5T4.
Telephone 528-5657, fax 528-5660.
Paul Smith, Publisher

4

Block tuitions are now in effect for
all Training Officer (TO) and Fire Prevention Inspector (FPI) Blocks. The
BlocJ;c tuition is $50.00 and applies
equally to all students.

Contributions
to the
newsletter
are welcome.
Please direct all material to
June McCormick, fax 528-5660.

Many people connected with the
Fire Academy know Anne
Langdon who was the Supervisor,
Administrative Services, for the
Fire Academy. Anne leaves the
Academy on long term disability.
Anne started with the Fire Academy on September 13, 1989. She
was the Supervisor of Support Staff
and Secretary to the Director. She
served on many committees including Recording Secretary for
the Fire Safety Advisory Council
and made several contributions to
the Academy and the Justice Institute. Anne has relocated to an area
where the air is cleaner and is doing well.

Administration of
examinations by fire
departments
On July 26, 1996, the Academy
mailed to each fire department a copy
of the Operational Guideline for the
Administration of Examinations by Fire
Departments.
Fire Departments meeting the eligibility criteria and following the Operational Guidelines will be able to administer and mark Fire Academy exams as
and when required.
THE FIRE ACADEMY NEWS