The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

the HERALD News Feature Wednesday August 14 1991 Training is intense Volunteer firefighters provide hazardous community service By LISA BOONTSTOPPEL POT The Herald To an outsider the piie of burn skids is just that a pile of burning skids But to volunteers with the Halton Hills Fire Depart the skids represent a shed engulfed in flames which is threatening the safety of a near by house and a fuel truck just metres away That the scenario Georgetown firefighters faced Thursday night while practicing rural techniques as part of their weekly Thursday night practices on the grounds of the Georgetown fire station on Maple Avenue Acton firefighters team at the Acton station on Bower Avenue Monday nights Acting Captain Jim Manning supervised the training session and explained the biggest pro blem in a rural situa tion is the lack of water The first truck to arrive on the scene is the pumper which only contains 000 litres of water he said When they arrive on the scene they have to decide how they re going to use this small supply of water until the tanker which holds 11 litres of water arrives in this instance the firefighters may decide to use the water to protect themselves while they go inside the home to check and see if anyone is in side he said But they also have to consider where the sparks are blowing because there is a tanker gas truck on the premise The Captain at the scene also has to decide how to position lttie pumper so there s room to con rtect the tanker to the pumper when it arrives said Captain Manning At the practice Captain John Wilson directed his men to use the water to extinguish the blaze at the home and wait for the tanker to combat the fire destroy ing the shed Rural tactics is just one of the areas volunteers are trained in said Halton Hills Department part time training officer Bob Meads who drafts the training schedule along with the district fire chief and the chief designate Two types of training schedules are drafted one for the new recruits and one for firefighters who have passed the recruit training schedule The Halton Hills Fire Depart accepts new recruits in the spring after they ve passed a physical and medical test and they undergo six months of train ing which begins with a general indoctrination of the fire depart and an explanation of what s expected of them said Next we move on to equip ment familiarity which is to basically teach the recruits to associate names with the pieced of equipment said Mr Meads It their initial role in the fire department to help the firefighters who know what they re doing by acting as tool carriers or gophers Once they re familiar with the equipment and know how to operate it to respond as the third man in a pumper crew which means getting the hoses ready at a fire scene and assisting the other four crew members he The last part of their training involves using the breathing In the eyes of these H lis firefighters the piles of burn ng skids are actually a shed and burning up on a rural property and they have to decide how to effectively use the limited water sup piy The f re scene was set up by Halton Is Fire Department Captains to teach volunteers rural firef ght techniques at last Thursdays practice Halton Hills ref practice firefighting I fesav ng and rescue techniques week ly Herald photo CANNING SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE MASON JARS 1L SUPPORT YOUR HOME TEAM r local merchants try their best every day to provide quality merchandise and services at the lowest possible prices These merchants deserve our support our business Sup port your home team and every one here will be a winner Keep the dollars you spend in HALTON HILLS I paratus equipment and once they ve mastered the breathing apparatus training they are con sidered experienced enough to combat fires said Mr Meads But the training doesn stop Recruits join the experienced firefighters in training under Captains in learning ventilation procedures high angle rescues defensive driving use of nozzles and streams auto extrication ropes and knots hazardous material residential and high nse preplanning salvage cardio pulmonary respiration and first aid and fire alarm systems Currently Captains at the Georgetown station are training 38 volunteers and have the capacity to train 45 volunteers The Acton station has the max lmum number of volunteers needed the HERALD A CHURCH Ilk DIRECTORY service call owl Taylor ANGLICAN St Albans Anglican Church 19 St Albans Acton St Alban s the Martyr Anglican Church Maui St Glen Williams St Paul s St George s Anglican Church 60 St Georgetown St John s Anglican Church Stewarttown BAPTIST Acton Baptist Church 80 Mill St Acton Maple Avenue Baptist Church Maple Ave Georgetown Baptist Church lOOMountainviewRd S Georgetown oodbank CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE Georgetown Alliance Church Main St S Georgetown CHRISTIAN REFORMED Georgetown Christian Reformed 7 and Trafalgar Georgetown Beth Christian Reformed Church Churchill Blvd Acton S WITNESSES Georgetown Hwy 7 Tower Georgetown Jehovah sWitnesses Hwy 25N Acton LUTHERAN Lutheran Windsor and Carole NON DENOMINATIONAL Churchill Community Church R Acton PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLIES OF CANADA Evangel Tabernacle Pentecostal Assembly Churchill Acton West of Trafalgar Hwy PRESBYTERIAN Knox Presbyterian 116 Main St S Georgetown Knox Presbyterian Church 44 Mam St Acton Presbyterian Church St ROMAN CATHOLIC Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church Maple Ave Georgetown SacreCoeur Church St Georgetown St Joseph s Church John Street Acton SALVATION ARMY Captain and Mrs W Budgell Mill St E UNITED St Andrew s United Church S Georgetown St Johns United Church 11 St Trinity United Church Mill St Acton 8532711 877 3404 877 3146 2759 7585 2360 853 877 2531 DENOMINATIONAL PENTECOSTAL ALL PEOPLES CHURCH DELIVERANCE CENTRE 1 F nchgale B Bramalea Corner Fnchgite Hwy Bible Study Worship Deliverance Sunday 30 am 7 Wednesday p m We Provide Ch Idren s Church Nursery Serv ce English Translation a Pastor George A LeRoy 7922176 CHURCH OF ST THE MARTYR Anglican Church of Canada Cud A Lin Chore In St GlanWHiama I Mountain Main Staj COME JOIN US A WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH LHHG APOSTLES ARE ACTIVE TODAY Sunday School SERVICES 10 30am OOpm Wednesdays OO p HALTON HILLS CONGREGATION Man St Soulh Acton