Four more Limerick firefighters receive FF1 certifications
Limerick Township council congratulated Fire Chief Greg Maxwell at their Oct. 16 meeting on four more of his volunteer firefighters receiving their FF1 certifications recently. That brings the total number of Limerick volunteer firefighters with this designation to eight. They are trying to comply with having 15 FF1 certified firefighters by 2025.
According to Maxwell’s report to Limerick council at their Oct. 16 meeting, four more volunteer firefighters had gotten their FF1 certification within the previous week. This course level, also known as NFPA 1001, identifies minimum job performance requirements for career and volunteer firefighters whose duties are primarily structural in nature, according to the National Fire Protection Association website at www.nfpa.org. There were also two firefighters from Wollaston Township that also achieved this distinction. Limerick and Wollaston have a shared fire services agreement between them to deal with any fire emergencies in the two townships.
According to www.ontario.ca, the Office of the Fire Marshal trains and certifies firefighters to National Fire Protection Association standards in Ontario, including standards for firefighters, fire prevention, fire investigation, public education and emergency telecommunications. The Ontario Fire College, as part of the OFM, develops and delivers over 300 courses per year online at regional training centres across the province.
Mayor Kim Carson congratulated the Limerick firefighters and Maxwell for their achievement at the Oct. 16 meeting and directed staff to send a letter of congratulations to the firefighters. “That’s a huge commitment from our firefighters and we have eight [firefighters now certified FF1] so congratulations Greg. That’s amazing!” she says.
Maxwell said in his report that the training had occurred on Sept. 8 to 10, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 and Oct. 12 to 15 and that the firefighters had spent three weekends at the fire training tower in Trenton for full days, located at the Hastings Prince Edward Fire Training Centre. Owned and operated by the Hastings Prince Edward Mutual Aid Association, it currently provides courses for firefighters from every department in both counties and takes in students from all over Ontario. The Limerick firefighters also spent hours studying online to achieve their FF1 certification. The following firefighters from Limerick now have this certification; Capt. Dwayne Loney, Capt. Scott Carrol, Dray Hopkins, Pascal Nobert, Alex Yevdokymov, Jack Donnely, and Solomon Johnston.
Maxwell told The Bancroft Times that it was a huge accomplishment and he was proud of his firefighters. “Three weekends away at the fire tower, and lots of online learning ahead of time.”
Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Bancroft Times
