Members of the County of Brant Fire Department, along with representatives from Enbridge Gas Inc. and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council, gathered at Paris Fire Station #1 to announce a partnership for the Safe Community Project Assist on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
This year, Enbridge Gas has donated $250,000 to be shared evenly between 50 Ontario volunteer and composite fire departments, including the County of Brant Fire Department.
“At Enbridge Gas, safety is at the core of what we do,” said Al Duesling, Supervisor Field Operations, Southeast Region, Enbridge Gas. “Providing support to Ontario firefighters with emergency response training, we’re equipping the heroes of tomorrow to better protect the communities we live and work in–keeping them healthy and vibrant.”
The $5000 donation to the County of Brant Fire Department will be used to supplement existing training and purchase educational materials to assist in the training of firefighters in life-saving techniques.
“Budgets are very tight and challenged, Enbridge has stepped up through this donation to help get these departments the textbooks and training materials that they need to help make sure they are certified up to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard,” said Jamie Kovacs, Executive Director of the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council. “This support really is massive for these departments and we’re grateful for Enbridge’s donation.”
Tom Waldschmidt, Fire Prevention Officer and Fire Captain at County of Brant Fire Department, said that not only will the training materials help with life saving techniques, but with public education as well.
“We are all one community and we’re all one big family, it’s our job to keep everybody safe,” he said. “Everyone sees the tankers and the pumper trucks, but what we don’t see is how many fires we have prevented through public education. If you can educate the public on how not to start a fire in the first place, your fire’s will go down.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
