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Firefighter Spring Training coming to Grand Forks

Next weekend, Grand Forks will be flooded with some 300 volunteer firefighters coming to take part in the Spring Training Seminar.
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Tom Bader and Kevin McKinnon

Next weekend, Grand Forks will be flooded with some 300 volunteer firefighters coming to take part in the Spring Training Seminar.

Event organizer and volunteer firefighter Gary Smith said the event, which is annual and held in different locations in the Okanagan, would be a chance for firefighters from across B.C. to come together and enjoy sessions on different types of firefighter training that’s available.

“They’re just short one-hour sessions,” Smith said. “It’s not like a certification course; it’s a sample basically and so the firefighters who go through the different stations will hopefully take it back to their department or their chief.”

The event consists of only volunteer departments, mostly from smaller communities across the province.

The sessions include auto extrication, a building search and using foam to smother burning fuels.

Smith said the public is welcome to come and watch the events, which will be held near the arena and in City Park.

“We want the public to come down, especially for the fire fit challenge; come down and root for the different firefighters,” he said, adding that there will be fire trucks, including some antiques on display.

At City Park, they will have things like rope rescue and swift water training.

“All told, we probably have  24 classes or demonstrations,” Smith said.

The event takes place all-day Saturday and ends Sunday afternoon.

The Grand Forks Volunteer Fire Fighter Association with the Grand Forks Fire Department (GFFD) are putting it on.

Smith said the event is held in Oliver every second year and has traditionally been held on the alternate year in places  like Cranbrook, Kelowna and Penticton.

Fire Chief Blair Macgregor said the event gives volunteer firefighters from smaller departments an overview of firefighting activities so we do a little bit of everything in one-hour sessions.

“My role is basically a supporting role to our volunteers to make sure they have what they need to put the show on,” Macgregor said, adding that every year they send around four to go firefighters to go to the event, while the others miss out. This year he’s happy to say that everyone will get to see it.

Macgregor noted that the last time GFFD hosted the event was in 1997 and before that, in 1987.