By Adam Ophus

New Wildfire Fighters

New CRFRS Wildland Urban Interface program on fast track

Jul 26, 2019 | 2:52 PM

The Clearwater County Regional Fire Service’s new expert firefighting team is in the process of being put together.

Recently, the CRFRS received news that they would be one of two of the recipients for the Wildland Urban Interface program for Alberta.

“That is a four person team that is full time for an 18 month contract that is designed to work with management partnership on wildland interface for the province of Alberta and be a response capable team to respond to areas where we’ve got a wildfire coming into a community or the threat of it coming into a community,” explains Regional Fire Chief Steve Debienne.

Debienne wants to encourage people that these firefighters while home would still be full members of the CRFRS.

“The members will still answer to Clearwater County, they will be our employees for the 18 month contract, but you’ve got to remember they’re going to be moving and transitioning through the province as the year progresses.”

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Although the project is only a year and a half in length, Debienne hopes that they can prove the initiative is worth making a permanent program.

Assistant Fire Chief Evan Stewart says they had many local firefighters apply for the position along with countless others, but wanted to reassure residents that anyone hired would not take from what they already have.

“Let’s say we have 40 firefighters from Rocky Mountain House, and now we had maybe 2, 3 or maybe all 4 come from one station, does that affect the numbers of firefighter we had there, no it wouldn’t,”

The half a million dollar project is also on a quickened pace with these positioned needing to be filled as soon as possible.

“This is definitely an expedited process, and a lot faster than what we’d have to work with,” describes Debienne. “So today we’re interview all day today and tomorrow and we’re hoping to make a decision next week, and hoping to have them hired on in early August.”

From official grant announcement to crew being hired, it would be less than a month for the new Wildland Urban Interface program to get started.