Expect The Unexpected — Members of the Mesachie Lake Volunteer Fire Department work through an unexpected mock rescue at their September 22 practice. First responder Casey Van Dalen, second from left, takes charge of the rescue of junior firefighter Ryan Eve. Assisting is first responder Shelley Coburn, left, deputy chief Gary Eve, second from right, and junior firefighter Bruce Coburn, right. The scenerio began when Ryan Eve was run over by the fire truck as it was backed out of the fire hall. Such unplanned training rescues keep the firefighters ready for action at anytime, anywhere. Read more about the Mesachie Lake first responders on page 21.
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Letter to Editor
ShareFire department first responders are constantly upgrading their skills
By Doug Marner - Lake Cowichan Gazette
Published: October 06, 2008 9:00 PM
Expecting the unexpected is a fact of life for our local emergency crews.
A man could suddenly collapse on the sidewalk in front of his Mesachie Lake home at 2 o’clock in the afternoon or have a heart attack at three in the morning.
These emergency calls go immediately through dispatch in Nanaimo, then are transferred to the proper emergency crew such as the Ambulance Service in Lake Cowichan.
In this case the page would also go to the Mesachie Lake Volunteer Fire Department as a first responder call. That’s necessary because in such an emergency, every second counts. The local first responders can get to the scene within a few minutes, whereas the ambulance is at least seven or eight minutes away, maybe longer if it’s already on a call.
Today fire departments do much more than put out fires. They are also called to motor vehicle accidents and, as with the above scenarios, medical calls.
The Mesachie Lake Volunteer Fire Department was one of the first in B.C. to establish a first responder system, starting in the early 1990s, and today the department has seven first responders within its ranks. To become first responders, Level 3 training was done through the Justice Institute of B.C. and re-certification is done every three years.
In addition to re-certification, the Mesachie Lake department also devotes one practice a month to first responder scenarios. One such scenario occurred at the September 22 practice in which, in an unexpected simulation, junior firefighter Ryan Eve was run over when one of the fire trucks was backed out of the hall.
First responders Casey Van Dalen and Shelley Coburn jump into action, under the watchful eye of Fire Chief Gary Eve. After they completed their rescue, Gary Eve offered some advise on how to improve their rescue.
Three weeks earlier, on a Saturday, four Mesachie Lake first responders received a refresher course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED), provided by ambulance paramedic Iggy Gotuaco of Youbou and Ryan (Radar) Smith of Lake Cowichan.
Smith did the AED training and Gotuaco the CPR training, both which are required at least once a year. The department is also expected to work on CPR and AED at some of its weekly practices.
The key to applying CPR, said Gotuaco, is get the heart pumping.
“I really appreciate getting the training,” said Shelley Coburn. “It’s always good to run through the procedures.”
