Manitoba firefighters to begin using advanced wireless communications in times of crisis
Even if the 19 volunteer firefighters at the Plum Coulee Fire Department had somehow preferred their handful of static-plagued, limited-range analog radios, they would soon have done them absolutely no good.
“Analog radios are going the way of the dinosaur,” says Tony Fehr, chief of the fire department in Plum Coulee, Man. “All the radios are going digital.”
The emergency response departments that make up Plum Coulee’s mutual aid network – a group of neighboring first response agencies that help each other when the need arises – have all shifted to digital radio communications. Since analog-frequency radios can’t connect with their digital counterparts, members of Plum Coulee’s crew – which serves the town of Plum Coulee, plus parts of the Rural Municipality of Rhineland – would have soon found themselves unable to communicate in times of crisis.
Thanks to a recent $9,500 Safe Community grant from Enbridge, Fehr is set to buy the digital radios his department needs to ensure the safety of firefighters and the community. The grant will cover the cost of six to eight handheld radios, plus an updated subscription to FleetNet 800, an advanced wireless communications service widely used by public safety organizations.
As a result, Fehr’s crew will have enough radios to go around – and each of those units will have greater range than their predecessors.
“Having more range will be a huge help with the logistics of incident management,” says Fehr. “The more guys equipped with radios, the better the communication, and the safer we keep our volunteer firefighters.”
According to current data from the Canada Revenue Agency and the U.S. National Fire Protection Agency, more than 865,000 volunteer firefighters currently contribute energy and time to safeguarding their communities across Canada and the United States.
Since Enbridge’s Safe Community was launched in 2002, we have invested $7-million in North American emergency responder organizations to help purchase equipment, obtain professional training, or deliver educational programs.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of fire departments in rural communities across North America, and the Safe Community program helps to protect those who protect our communities, says Les Scott, a senior community relations advisor with Enbridge.
“We have four paid fire chiefs in all those little Manitoba communities along our mainline right-of-way. Everyone else is pretty much a volunteer,” says Scott.
For Fehr, this recent Safe Community grant was more than just financial support for his department — it was an affirmation.
“Our volunteer firefighters work through the night on a call, and then have to go to their real job the next day . . . they do it because it’s the right thing to do,” says Fehr.
“Enbridge’s support gives us that warm, fuzzy feeling that somebody out there sees those sacrifices and cares about what we’re doing.”
