The High Level Fire Department is taking advantage of the easing of public health guidelines to get some outdoor training done.
Earlier this month, the province announced that outdoor gatherings up to a maximum of 50 people are allowed, provided that physical distancing rules are followed.
Rodney Schmidt is the Fire Chief and Director of Protective Services for the Town of High Level and says it was nice to do something different for the first time in a couple of months.
“Since March, we have been doing online training only with our firefighters and that doesn’t allow for that interaction quite as much as getting the crew together and working on those practical skills,” explains Schmidt.
Among the tasks that crews were able to work on include wild land training, as well as pumping.
“We worked at one of the local ponds and were able to move some water around and make sure firefighters are refreshed with the operation of those pumps,” says Schmidt.
In order to help limit the spread of COVID-19, Schmidt tells the Trending 55 Newsroom that strict sanitizing measures are in places for the department’s trucks and equipment.
“It does add a little bit of extra time to our training but it’s worth it because we can actually get out and start training again,” concludes Schmidt.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
