VIDEO: Mid-Island fire departments hold first-ever group training exercise

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VIDEO: Mid-Island fire departments hold first-ever group training exercise

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Stations were set up at the Military Camp, as well as at nearby homes, designed to replicate situations when wildfires threaten homes and lives.

Upwards of 60 personnel were taking part, with a big portion of the day about forging relationships with fellow firefighters.

“Someone once told me you don’t want to exchange business cards at the time of an emergency, so this is a great time to meet everyone and know the people face-to-face before we have an emergency where we can actually know who everyone is and know what the skill levels are,” Kenning added.

Around 60 firefighters from six different departments attended the exercise Saturday. (Image Credit: Kyle Ireland/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Scheduling the event was a major challenge, according to Kenning, who said the mix of full-time and volunteer firefighters in the region makes getting everyone in the same place, at the same time, very difficult.

A “post-mortem” will take place in about two weeks on Saturday’s exercise, looking to refine the process for future training days.

“Being the first training exercises, we’re just wanting to meet everyone, see everyone face-to-face on a fire ground or on an incident, and see how everyone performs together. Make sure our radios and tactics are the same, make sure everyone understands a common language, and make sure we can work together.”

A total fire ban was put into effect on Thursday, May 7, across a vast majority of the Coastal Fire centre, including all of the mid-Island region.

It’s the earliest ban of its kind on record, with previous bans in the Nanaimo and Oceanside area typically coming in mid-July.

The exercise Saturday was the first time most local departments had gathered for training together. (Image Credit: Kyle Ireland/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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