By TERRY PUGH
The City of Warman and surrounding communities will soon be more prepared than ever to respond to natural and man-made disasters.
A 40-foot Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) trailer equipped with essential tools is nearly ready for deployment if and when it’s needed anywhere in the province.
Stored at the Warman Fire Hall, the trailer is the most visible sign of organizational changes in civilian emergency response teams over the past 18 months.
WERT DISBANDING
The trailer and its contents are being donated by the Warman Emergency Response Team (WERT), a non-profit volunteer organization that began nearly a decade ago and is currently in the process of being wound down.
WERT was established with a mandate to support residents of Warman and the surrounding region during emergencies by operating evacuation centres, providing essential aid, and assisting fire and police protective services when called upon. The organization was modelled on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) initiative in many cities in the United States.
WERT members raised funds and garnered donations from corporate sponsors to purchase the trailer and equipment. Over the years, team members contributed significantly to local emergency preparedness and earned the City of Warman Volunteer Group of the Year award in 2017.
NCPSAR REVITALIZED
But, while WERT is being formally disbanded, that doesn’t mean its volunteer members are calling it quits.
Instead, they’ve moved on to join the revitalized North Corman Park Search and Rescue (NCPSAR) group, an active chapter of the Search and Rescue Saskatchewan Association of Volunteers (SARSAV). The NCPSAR focuses on search and rescue operations, training and public awareness, complementing the area’s emergency services.
WERT Vice-President Marshall Seed said the goals and mandate of NCPSAR are virtually identical to WERT, and it makes sense to join a search and rescue organization that is certified provincially and nationally.
“It gives us greater recognition and expands training opportunities,” said Seed, who is also a Warman City Councillor and a strong advocate for protective services. “The WERT executive wanted to ensure that the equipment and assets that were donated to WERT remain in the community of Warman and be accessible to emergency responders in the region.
“So WERT is donating the trailer and equipment to Warman Fire Rescue (WFR) for its ongoing use, as well as to NCPSAR through coordination with the local Emergency Management Organization (EMO). This transfer keeps the legacy of WERT alive while directly benefiting the residents of Warman and area through strengthened fire, rescue and search capabilities.”
BENEFITS FIRE SERVICE
Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin said the donation of the DART trailer and equipment will have short and long-term benefits for the region.
“We’re very fortunate to have the donation of equipment,” said Austin. “A lot of it will be transferred over to North Corman Park Search and Rescue, which will become our ‘go-to’ resource for the EMO and fire department. Anytime there is a tornado or flood or anything like that we can put the same people to work with a slightly different mandate, but they’ll be properly equipped and properly trained.”
Austin said the WERT donation to WFR, because it is over $10,000, still needs to be approved by Warman City Council. A motion to that effect is expected to take place at the next council meeting on February 23. (Because he is a member of city council as well as WERT, Seed will not take part in the vote.)
Once the donation is approved, WFR will take over ownership of the DART trailer and equipment and be responsible for maintenance and storage. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between WFR and NCPSAR will be signed outlining the process for deployment of the assets.
“It made sense to have the donation come right to WFR because we can put some of the equipment into use with our fire service right off the bat,” said Austin, noting that WERT communication radios are among the items that represent an estimated $25,000 upgrade for WFR. “And the stuff that’s more designed for emergency preparedness and emergency response will stay in the trailer for use for use by North Corman Park Search and Rescue.
“So if disaster occurs, our firefighters are going to be very busy dealing with situations like complex rescues, turning off gas lines and putting out fires; and we’re going to need people to staff barricades and do sandbagging and make sure people are safe and secure. We need those trained civilian volunteers to do that. Those are the tasks that WERT volunteers did, and now NCPSAR members will also do that.”
Austin said having that support, in terms of both volunteers and equipment, is a rarity in Canadian communities.
TRAINED VOLUNTEERS
NCPSAR volunteers learn practical search and rescue skills after taking a 50-hour course, which qualifies them to respond to any provincial emergency.
“Search and rescue chapters are called out by the RCMP through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, (SPSA)” said Austin. “That’s how the legislation works. If someone is missing, the RCMP contacts the SPSA, which then puts out a broadcast to the 13 SARSAV chapters in Saskatchewan, and the one that is closest usually gets called first.”
ORIGINS OF NCPSAR
Austin said the NCPSAR chapter originated about 30 years ago.
“Firefighters from Martensville, Warman, Osler, Dalmeny and Langham got together and wanted to be able to do civilian search and rescue,” said Austin. “So that’s where all our departments actually got into the business of doing technical rescue; it all evolved out of that system. But as our communities grew and the number of emergency calls went up, volunteer firefighters had to devote their efforts to firefighting and medical. Back in 2013, when I started with WFR, we did 150 calls a year; now we’re doing 650 calls. Volunteers only have so much time, so the NCPSAR chapter lost a lot of its members who were firefighters.
“About a year and a half ago, we were down to probably about six members in our NCPSAR chapter. Once we started talking with the WERT people, it was an easy transition for those people from WERT to come in and take that basic search and rescue training. And now in 15 months we’ve gone from six members to over 40 members in the NCPSAR chapter. So we have a much stronger capacity, and a lot more interest from people not just in Warman, but also Martensville and other communities.”
READY FOR EMERGENCIES
Austin said in the event of an emergency, NCPSAR will request use of the DART trailer from WFR.
“Warman Fire maintains total control over it, so we can say yes or no,” said Austin. “But obviously, helping people is what we do, so we’re going to say yes; and then NCPSAR volunteers can hook up and take it where it’s needed.”
Austin said over the next several weeks, he and Warman Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Schwartz (who is also Warman’s EMO Coordinator) will get the DART trailer and equipment ready to meet any contingency.
“Once the snow goes, we’ll be into grass fire, forest fire and flooding season,” he said. “The goal is to get our people trained and have all the equipment ready to go.”
Schwartz said the addition of the DART trailer and equipment will make a big difference in the event of a large disaster.
“It’s a big asset,” said Schwartz. “At any given moment we can rely on a team of trained volunteers that have access to the supplies they need.”