La Ronge Regional Fire Department’s Fire Chief, Wayne Tchorzewski, is expressing his gratitude for training and laptops being provided to his organization, which is expected to save them thousands of dollars.
Officials with Northern Resource Trucking are giving training to firefighters that will earn them a Class 3 licence with an airbrake endorsement. The training is essential for operating some of the department’s emergency vehicles and is being provided to the department free of charge.
“Our tanker truck is a tandem truck, which requires the Class 3 licence,” said Tchorzewski. “That’s why we’re going through the process of having everybody trained, certified, and most importantly, having everybody confident in driving that truck safely.”
The training division manager for NRT, Randy Mihilewicz says the lessons would normally be quite expensive.
“We were looking at anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000 per firefighter,” said Mihilewicz. “They need a minimum of 30 hours of training, and we’ve been providing sometimes more. When they feel comfortable is when we’ll cut them loose.”
Five firefighters have already received their training from NRT and the department has plans to train 14 more.
“We just felt as members of the community and being involved in the community, (that) this would be a great opportunity for us to get involved and show our support for the department here in La Ronge,” said Mihilewicz.
The department has also received a donation of 13 laptops from Northlands College that will be used to provide online training to firefighters.
“It is much appreciated what these local businesses are doing for us,” said Tchorzewski.
Officials with the La Ronge Regional Fire Department say that any individual or business that is interested in supporting them is welcome to phone or visit their station.
(PHOTO: La Ronge Regional Fire Department. Photo courtesy of larongefire.ca)