Hot time at the Qualicum fire camp

By Neil Horner - Parksville Qualicum Beach News - March 25, 2008

Participants in the Qualicum Beach Volunteer Fire Department’s fire camp cheer on a teammate during firefighter Olympics event Sunday. The friendly competition pitted three crews against each other as they completed various tasks. Neil Horner photos

It’s not often you see teenagers eager to get up in the morning on a holiday, let alone at 2 a.m., but there was no hesitation to do just that among 15 Grade 10 students attending fire camp during the spring break last week.

The week-long training camp is put on by the Qualicum Beach Volunteer Fire Department to give young teens a taste of what it’s like to be a firefighter. As in past years, the response from those signing up to don the heavy, hot gear and lug hoses around was more than enthusiastic.

“It has been amazing,” said PASS-Woodwinds student Mandy Newman. “The people you meet are awesome. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s hard.”

Newman said she decided to sign up for the rigorous course after her family suffered a house fire last year.

“I wanted to give something back to other people,” she said.

It was no surprise Denyse Kohse got involved. Her father, Darryl Kohse, is the deputy fire chief for Qualicum Beach and she has always looked up to him for this. This camp, she said, was one step towards following in his footsteps.

“He has been a huge role model for me,” she said. “I want to be a part of it and do something like this with my dad.”

Kohse knew the course would be no cakewalk, so the heavy grunt work came as no surprise.

“It was pretty much what I expected,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of teamwork and a hell of a lot of fun. It’s awesome.”

The elder Kohse said his daughter’s attitude was not unique.

“They’re really pumped,” he said. “It’s neat to see how they start off, really apprehensive, not knowing each other, and as the week progresses, to see them come together as a unit. It’s almost like family in the end.”

This is the fifth year the department has held the camp during spring break and Kohse said it’s valuable to both the students — as a work experience initiative and skills-building exercise — and to the department as a recruiting tool. He said the enthusiasm shown by the young people lasts beyond the course itself.

“Last year we had kids that kept coming back,” he said. “We had practices where they were coming to practice with us.”

During the course, students learn skills such as CPR, use of self-contained breathing apparatus,wildland fire fightingh, ropes and knots, live fire attack tactics, hose deployment and other valuable skills. They learn how to turn sprinklers on and off, how to load and unload hoses, different ways to battle different types of fires and they were even called out in the early morning hours — just like their adult compatriots.

At the end of the week the three squads of junior firefighters took part in a firefighter Olympics, completing various firefighting tasks in a friendly competition.

Although they learned much during the course, there was one skill they took home with them that was of overriding importance.

“The most important thing is safety, and number two is teamwork,” the younger Kohse said. “Everyone has to work together and everyone has to rely on everybody else.”

news@pqbnews.com

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Hot time at the Qualicum fire camp

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