Some brave residents are ready to suit up for the local fire service.
Almost 50 people attended Bradford West Gwillimbury Fire and Emergency Services’ graduation ceremony at Station No. 1 in Bradford Wednesday evening (Aug. 20) to celebrate nine volunteer recruits who completed their training and are now ready to respond to calls.
Due to a family emergency, Fire Chief Michael Rozario couldn’t attend, so Deputy Fire Chief Steve Hall spoke on his behalf and said Rozario extended his sincerest thanks to the recruits.
“You have an enormous challenge in dedicating yourselves to the community when they least expect it,” Hall said on behalf of Rozario. “I commend each and every one of you for stepping forward to take part in this challenge.”
Hall emphasized that training required the recruits to sacrifice their evenings and weekends so they could push themselves through “rigorous” exercises requiring them to withstand flames, master complex rescue techniques and learn to deliver vital medical care.
“Our nine recruits that you see here have dedicated their time, their effort, their sweat, their blood and sometimes their tears to prepare themselves to become firefighters,” he said.
Mayor James Leduc was unable to return from the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa in time for the ceremony, so Hall also spoke on his behalf and said the mayor commended the new firefighters for their “perseverance and determination.”
“You will be answering the call when your neighbours are in need and that is one of the highest forms of public service,” Hall said on behalf of Leduc.
The nine graduating recruits included:
- Christopher Brinkos
- Steven dePeuter
- Elisabeth Hihnala
- Kaitlyn Owen
- Ethan Pinto
- William Poot
- Jackson Taylor
- Joshua Wells
- Rachel Zawadi
They completed between 150-200 hours of training over eight months beginning on Jan. 8 under the guidance of Training Officers Paul Hecking and Ian Poot in a program blending locally developed and Ontario Fire Marshal curriculum.
That covered everything from personal protective equipment, self-contained breathing apparatus and hose operations, to 24 hours of medical training through the Simcoe County Paramedics’ Quality Care Program and more.
Poot emphasized the training included challenges such as entering a burning building, being submerged in the canal in sub-zero weather and learning to use specialized tools to rescue people from vehicles.
For those with limited prior experience, additional certification was provided through the Ontario Fire Marshal, culminating in written and practical exams.
While Poot said he was proud of all nine for earning their certificates, but conceded one was particularly special for him — his son William Poot.
“I feel lucky that I get to train him,” Ian said after the ceremony.
William said it was a “really good feeling,” to graduate under his father’s teaching, especially having spent his childhood watching his father go from a volunteer firefighter to a training officer.
“His guidance has helped a lot,” he said.”I really look up to what he does and who he is.”
William said he always knew he wanted to one day become a firefighter, and others also shared that sentiment including fellow graduate Kaitlyn Owen.
She’s joining the service on top of her job as a nurse, which she said can be physically, mentally and emotionally demanding, but also comes with a schedule of several days on followed by several days off, and she likes to keep busy.
While the process of becoming a firefighter can be “nerve wracking,” she said anyone interested should “just do it.”
“I just took the leap and did it anyways and it was the best decision I could have made,” she said.
That was echoed by fellow graduate Ethan Pinto, who said the process was “very intimidating” at first, but was overall “phenomenal.”
Pinto praised the service for being welcoming, especially the “dedicated teachers,” Poot and Hecking.
“Every lesson spoke 1,000 words,” he said.
Inspired by two older brothers — one an officer in the Caledon Ontario Provincial Police, and another a paramedic in Toronto — Pinto said he’s wanted to become a firefighter since Grade 10.
The service now has a total of 16 volunteer firefighters, who will work alongside and “back up,” the 40 full-time firefighters, according to Hall.
“They’re an integral part of the department,” he said after the ceremony.
While Hall expects they will continue expanding the number of volunteers in future, he stressed that candidates are vetted very carefully, and these nine had to prove they have what it takes.
That includes being willing to respond to a call at 3 a.m., to give up Christmas Day to fight a blaze, to spend a long weekend extinguishing a grass fire or a Friday evening helping with an auto extrication on Highway 400.
“It’s a big demand, and they really need to dig deep into themselves to determine if they’re wiling to do that, and these nine recruits have done that,” Hall said.