The Fire Chief for Hanover says they have crossed another hurdle in their efforts to open a fire hall in the community of Blumenort.

In September 2016, Hanover Council made the decision to pursue plans for a hall in Blumenort. On February 15 of this year, an information meeting was held in that community and then on Wednesday of this week, they held a firefighter recruitment night. Paul Wiebe says it was a success.

"We had about forty interested people who were there to check out what was required and were very interested in applying," says Wiebe. "For us, that was very positive."

Wiebe says Hanover Council can pull the plug on this project at any point. But, he says with the interest shown Wednesday, it looks like they can progress to the next step.

"If we don't have people to join the fire department as firefighters we can't put this together," explains Wiebe. "So this step is hugely important to get enough people involved. Not just interested, but involved."

According to Wiebe, there was a good cross-section at Wednesday's meeting of men, women, young adults, middle-aged individuals and even a few with experience in firefighting. He says of all the communities in Hanover, Blumenort might be best set up for daytime calls. That is because the community has a lot of job opportunities, meaning their volunteer firefighters shouldn't be far away when a call comes in. And because Blumenort isn't far from Winnipeg, Wiebe says a lot of residents do shift work there.

"That's also great," notes Wiebe. "Even though they are working for a shift or tour, they are also off for awhile, so they are available a lot of daytimes and that's traditionally been the toughest spot to fill."

Wiebe says it takes all kinds of people to run a fire hall.

"We need people that are mechanically inclined, we need people who understand buildings, we need people who understand dealing with people," he says. "There's a wide range of experience that can really be an asset to our fire department."

And that includes female firefighters. Wiebe says though there is currently only one in Hanover, he would love to have more.

Wiebe is now accepting applications. He asks that they are dropped off by the third week of March. Once they see how many applications come in, they will report to Hanover Council. Wiebe says with the blessing of Council, they would then move to the next step which is to begin hiring and interviewing.

He says he would love to have 25 individuals start the program in order to have a crew of at least 15 in their department.

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