Members from Parksville Fire Rescue will hold their annual open practice on Monday night, looking to attract local residents interested in joining. (Parksville Fire Rescue)

By Alex Rawnsley

be a firefighter

‘It takes the public to make the trucks run:’ Parksville Fire Rescue holding recruitment-focused open house

Jan 22, 2024 | 5:26 AM

PARKSVILLE — Wonder what it’s really like to be a firefighter in Oceanside? Monday could be your night to find out.

Parksville Fire Rescue are holding their annual open house event on Monday, Jan. 22, geared toward people aged 18-60 who want to become paid on-call volunteer firefighters.

Assistant fire chief Mike Tisdelle said it’s the third or fourth year they’ve held the event in a bid to bolster recruitment and grow their roster.

“We’ve had success with the open house, it allows people to stop by and watch a training event, ask questions to members…we also take them down to our training centre in the industrial park and give them opportunities to watch our crew train.”

Those interested are asked to arrive by 6:30 p.m., with the training session to run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the firehall at 160 Jensen Ave. W.

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Tisdelle added those attending should dress for the weather as the event will proceed regardless of weather conditions.

Just under 40 paid on-call volunteer members make up a vast majority of firefighters in Parksville. (Parksville Fire Rescue)

He told NanaimoNewsNOW a major factor in joining the department is time, with weekly training sessions in addition to one weekend a month needed to complete training.

“It’s a big time commitment but overall people that do join, they want to give back to the community and help out. With Parksville being a volunteer paid on call fire department, it takes the public to make the trucks run.”

Being local is also another requirement.

“We need people that live in our fire protection area is probably the biggest one we run into. We get people from Errington, Nanoose Bay or Nanaimo wanting to join our fire department but you have to live in our fire protection area first off.”

Residents in Parksville, as well as RDN electoral area G are eligible.

Parksville Fire Rescue currently employes six paid members and 37 paid on-call volunteers.

The department is coming off its busiest year every with 793 calls for service through 2023, up roughly 22 per cent from 2022.

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