Auxiliary alarm sounded
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Updated: November 05, 2009 6:40 AM
The Nelson Fire Department is in need of some new auxiliary fire fighters.
The deadline for applications was extended to Nov. 9 because of a low initial response to their first recruitment campaign.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Bob Slade, the department received only seven applications, though they were hoping for around 20.
“We need to get enough people interested for it to make sense, financially, to run the training,” he explained.
All qualifying applicants go through an aptitude test built by a physiologist to ensure they’ll be mentally fit to fight fires.
From there, initial training includes going into a live fire and learning to use the fire fighting equipment.
“After the training people usually have a pretty good sense of whether fire fighting is something they’d like to do,” said Slade.
“From 20 applicants, we might get a handful who become part of the auxiliary.”
People have many reasons for wanting to get involved with fighting fires. Some are looking to move into a career with the department, while others just like the adrenaline of the job.
Peter Defeo, 51, falls into the later category. He’s been an auxiliary fire fighter for 33 years.
“I think it’s important for everybody to find some way to contribute to the community, and for me I happened to hit into fire fighting as the way I was going to do that,” Defeo explained.
Over the years, Defeo has been at more than 1,000 fires.
The Nelson Fire Department is what is referred to as a composite department, meaning it employs career firefighters, but also has the auxiliary to call in as backup as needed.
That means people like Defeo are on call 24/7 to respond to an emergency. Auxiliary fire fighters are paid when they’re called out and also for the time they spend training each week to keep fresh on their routine.
“It’s an exciting job, if you enjoy a challenge,” he said. “It’s very physical and unpredictable.
“Fires aren’t like really the way they’re portrayed on TV. There’s a lot of smoke, usually you go in a burning house and you have to feel around because you can’t see a thing.”
For more information on becoming an auxiliary fire fighter, call the Nelson Fire Department at 250-352-3103.
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