*video clips courtesy of Kendra Bartel and Chris of the Hanover Fire Departments*
 
Members of the Kleefeld, Grunthal and New Bothwell Fire Departments participated in a weekend of training for the second year.
 
Kleefeld Fire Trainer Gary Kehler says each of the three fire department individually train twice a month so this was a great opportunity for all three Hanover Fire Departments to get together, learn new skills and have a refresh on old skills. During the weekend firefighters were involved in an Emergency Driving Course in Grunthal, theory in driving and incident command systems, vehicle extrication seminar in Kleefeld, how to 'size up' a fire call scene and getting out of a complicated trapped fire situation in New Bothwell; getting entangled in wires, lost in a fire or having a downed firefighter (also known as a Denver Drill).

Along with Hanover instructors teaching was lead by Todd Delaurier from the Manitoba Emergency College and Steinbach Fire Lieutenant Trevor Schellenberg. 

"This gives everyone a chance to work with each other," explains Kehler. "I've talked to a couple of the younger guys and they were really excited about having some of the senior firefighters come in and just give them some more knowledge."

Firefighters during vehicle extrication. (Photo by Trevor Schellenberg)Kehler says there are several members of the Hanover Fire Departments who have driven big trucks or drive semi-trucks professionally so the size of a fire truck was not an issue. He notes they were, however, taught reaction-action time, guiding, backing and driving noting it does take some finesse to drive the tanker truck because of the water swaying inside.

When it comes to other training drills Kehler says it's great to learn the various skills adding the feeling of going through the motions during training versus a real life situation will always be different.

"It's not something that you want to ever happen but you want to have instincts when it does happen," notes Kehler, referring to a Denver Drill, which is when firefighters retrieve a downed firefighter from a tight enclosed space. "This is what I need to do, these are the steps I need to take. Again, unfortunately, drilling and real-life are quite different. When you get into a real life scenario there's more adrenaline going through the body. But still, if you can rely on your training and go back to that and say, 'this is what I need to do, keep calm, keep my head on and we'll go through the steps and we'll get out of here.'"

Using the jaws of life during vehicle extrication. (Photo by Trevor Schellenberg)As for vehicle extrication, Kehler says the newer members of the fire departments were a little taken a back by the weight of the jaws of life, which is approximately 30 pounds, as well as how the hydraulics 'push you around.' He adds, once again, as much as training is a benefit, a vehicle extrication training seminar cannot recreate a real life high impact collision. But, he says they were able to share stories and recreate real life scenarios as close as possible to help members in their training.

Kehler says he decided to become a firefighter because he wanted to help and be involved in his community. Likewise, he adds he enjoys training because he gets to spend more time with the guys who are a part of the Kleefeld Fire Department.

"We're down to earth, your neighbour next door type of person," notes Kehler. "We all have other jobs and we're very family oriented. Saturday night we had a supper and we brought our wives, kids and significant others who are very supportive of us. The community is also very supportive. When you get that kind of support, it's a little bit easier to give up some of your free time to go to a fire call."

Kehler says an annual fire training weekend is something he would like to see continue. He also thanks all those who helped out during the weekend, gave of their time and also to the various businesses who supplied food for all the firefighters.

Members from the three Hanover Fire Department's who participated in the training weekend. (Photo courtesy of Gary Kehler)